Department for Business and Trade

Cars: Manufacturing Industries

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the policy to reduce the sale of (a) petrol and (b) diesel cars by 2030 on the production capacity of the car industry.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Given the continued overseas demand for high-quality, UK-built vehicles, changes to policy in the nations we export to are more likely to affect levels of UK car production than changes in domestic policy. Like the UK, policy in key exports markets is toward greater electrification as the global shift to electric vehicles quickens.Government’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate will ensure the UK’s share of ZEVs increases, putting our industry at the forefront of new technologies to grow the economy and attracting new inward investment, creating thousands of new jobs.

UK Tradeshow Programme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the UK Tradeshow Programme.

Greg Hands: The Government announced the UK Tradeshow Programme as a pilot programme and feasibility study in November 2021. The programme did not yield the successes we might have hoped, and was closed in March 2023.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has sought legal advice on the potential implications of continued approval of arms export licences where (a) components and (b) arms are known to be going to conflict zones.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is comprised of subject matter experts and officials in the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade receives legal advice as appropriate, on all matters related to export licensing, as part of advice from officials. Any legal advice received is subject to legal professional privilege and as such we do not comment on legal advice that may or may not have been sought or received.

Horizon IT System: Compensation

Siobhan Baillie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of the Post Office Horizon Scandal GLO compensation claimants are represented by lawyers who have not signed up to the tariff of reasonable legal costs.

Kevin Hollinrake: My Department has offered to meet the reasonable legal costs of postmasters applying to the GLO scheme in line with a tariff agreed with claimants’ legal representatives. I wrote to all GLO postmasters in December 2022 advising them not to engage any lawyer who asks them for payment, as this might mean their compensation would be reduced by legal costs which they could not recover. My Department’s understanding is that only one lawyer has been engaged on that basis, representing one or two out of 492 claimants in the GLO scheme.

Cabinet Office

Defence: Buildings

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 3 October 2023 to Question 197591 on Defence: Buildings, what progress the Office for Government Property has made on collating information on the Defence Estate.

Alex Burghart: The Office for Government Property (OGP) conducted a data capture exercise to bring together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place, which we have since used in conjunction with individual departments to encourage them to conclude their identification stage. This has aided in identifying a list of confirmed Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete across individual department’s estates. Each department owns the data relating to specific locations, identification and remediation plans within their estate.

Honours: Northern Ireland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2023 to Question 1832 on Honours: Northern Ireland, if he will (a) make it his policy to (i) update the statues of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick and (ii) make the Order available to residents of the whole island of Ireland and (b) make an assessment of the potential impact of that policy on the state of the Union.

Alex Burghart: There are no plans to update the statutes of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick. As my Right Honourable Friend stated on 21st November (UIN 1832), nominations for existing honours are open to all citizens within the four nations of the United Kingdom.

House of Lords Appointments Commission

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to improve the functioning of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Alex Burghart: The House of Lords Appointment Commission (HOLAC) does important work in providing vetting advice to the Prime Minister on all nominations for life peers to ensure the highest standards of propriety. The Government has recently appointed a new Chair as well as two new Independent members to increase HOLAC’s capacity. The Government is grateful for the work it carries out, and has no plans to review its function at the current time.

Public Sector: Cybersecurity

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department is taking steps to engage with the private sector to improve the cyber resilience of public services.

Alex Burghart: The Government is working with the private sector as part of our whole-of-society approach to delivering the National Cyber Strategy. The Strategy sets out the Government’s ambitions to raise levels of resilience across all sectors by next year, with a particular focus on our Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and making government an exemplar.As announced by the Deputy Prime Minister at the CyberUK conference in April 2023, the Government has set ambitious targets for all CNI sectors to strengthen their cyber resilience and plans to bring private sector businesses working in CNI within the scope of cyber resilience regulations.The Government also works closely with the private sector through a range of advisory groups. The National Cyber Advisory Board, co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister invites senior leaders across the cyber ecosystem to support and inform the Government’s implementation of the National Cyber Strategy. The Board allows the Government to hear alternative viewpoints, invite challenge, and harness networks within the cyber sector and beyond.The Government Cyber Security Advisory Board brings together leading cyber professionals from industry and academia to provide expertise and constructive challenge, as the Government delivers the Government Cyber Security Strategy.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Mr David Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with the European Union on potential amendments to the Windsor Framework to streamline the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Alex Burghart: The Windsor Framework replaces the old Northern Ireland Protocol, addressing issues in its operation and protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK. We continue to have discussions with the EU on the operation of the Windsor Framework, including through the structures agreed as part of the Windsor Framework.

Import Controls

Stella Creasy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of additional declarations that businesses will need to make following the implementation of the Border Target Operation Model.

Alex Burghart: The Border Target Operating Model sets out our new approach to Safety and Security controls (applying to all imports and standardising controls applied to Rest of World and EU trade), and Sanitary and Phytosanitary controls (applied to imports of animal products, germinal products, plants and plant products and live animals) at the border. It also outlines how we will reduce the administrative burden of traders providing this information through the UK Single Trade Window. Future trade flows are of course subject to factors beyond government policy including changes to consumer and trader behaviour. Our modelling estimates 17.4m additional Safety and Security declarations will be required following implementation of the Border Target Operating Model. We also estimate a total of up to 4.5m consignments that are imported into the UK from the EU will be subject to Sanitary and Phytosanitary requirements. These requirements depend on the risk of the commodity within the consignment as outlined in the published Border Target Operating Model. These estimates are based on data sourced from a range of government agencies, including Safety and Security declarations for non-EU trade, customs declaration data and transit data. The Government will continue to assess the latest estimates based on more recent data.

Cabinet Office: Ministers' Private Offices

Sarah Olney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any refurbishments have been made to ministerial offices in his Department in each of the last two years.

Alex Burghart: In September 2023, a Project was completed to create a Ministerial Meeting Room in the Cabinet Office’s 2nd Headquarters within Glasgow: 1 Atlantic Square. The room enables the conduct of Ministerial business in Glasgow, including hosting meetings. Within London, 70 Whitehall Two of the Ministerial offices were redecorated in April 2023 due to water damage.A Ministerial Waiting Room was redecorated with furniture alterations in November 2023.Further decoration of a Ministerial corridor is planned in March 2024, also due to water damage. Each of these refurbishments strives to strike a balance between value for the taxpayer and ensuring that staff are able to do their job effectively.

King Charles III: Art Works

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of requests to receive an official portrait of His Majesty The King by public authorities in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Alex Burghart: As is usual practice following accession, an Official Portrait has been taken of His Majesty The King to mark the start of the new Reign, for use in public buildings and for other official purposes. His Majesty’s Government will use this portrait for the Official Portrait Scheme, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister in April last year. The scheme opened in November 2023 to enable certain Public Authorities across the UK to apply for a free, framed official portrait of His Majesty The King for display in their buildings. The scheme is ongoing and is due for completion by mid year 2024. While the scheme is ongoing, we will not be releasing figures on total uptake but requests have been made by Public Authorities across all four nations of the United Kingdom.

Government Departments: ICT

Mike Kane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Council has received briefings on red-rated legacy computer systems used by Government departments in the last three years.

Alex Burghart: The National Security Council (NSC) is a committee of Cabinet and is bound by the same rules and conventions as all Cabinet Committees. Information about discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees are not normally publicly shared.

King Charles III: Art Works

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) adopting the Australian policy of the constitutional right to a portrait of the Sovereign and (b) offering a free portrait of the King to all homes in the United Kingdom.

Alex Burghart: The Government does not have any plans to make an assessment regarding the Australian policy of the constitutional right to a portrait of the Sovereign, or offering a free portrait of the King to all homes in the United Kingdom.

Ministers: Training

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Ministers (a) were entitled to participate and (b) took part in the programme of eight masterclasses for new Ministers in the last 12 months.

John Glen: Since 1 January 2023, three masterclasses have been delivered, all focused on legislating as a minister. All serving ministers have been eligible to participate in the sessions. Seven ministers have attended, representing six different departments.

Blood: Contamination

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to provide (a) compensation and (b) interim payments to those who contracted Hepatitis B through infected blood.

John Glen: Since October 2022, the Government has made interim payments of £100,000 to those infected with HIV and or Hepatitis C and bereaved partners registered with the existing Infected Blood Support Schemes, as recommended in the Infected Blood Inquiry’s first interim report. The Government is actively considering the recommendations of the second interim report, including the recommendation relating to those infected with chronic Hepatitis B, and is in the process of appointing clinical, legal and social care experts to advise on the Government’s response. The Inquiry’s recommendations are wide ranging and the Government position must be considered in light of the final report. The Inquiry will publish its final report on 20th May and I have committed to updating Parliament within 25 sitting days of its publication.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many requests for meetings on the infected blood inquiry and recommendations he has received from (a) victims, (b) organisations representing victims and (c) victims' lawyers since 13 November 2023; and how many such meetings he (i) has had and (ii) plans to have.

John Glen: Since 13 November 2023 I have received 58 letters and emails about the Infected Blood scandal including from people infected and affected. I have been deeply affected by the suffering and trauma of each individual as a result of infected blood and would like to reassure the community that the Government is committed to acting swiftly following the publication of the final report. I plan to engage with the infected blood community as soon as I have a substantive update to share on the Government response. I am mindful of the anxiety that those infected and affected must be experiencing at this time and would not wish to exacerbate this.

Blood: Contamination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who the (a) clinical, (b) legal and (c) care experts appointed to inform plans for delivering compensation to victims of the infected blood scandal are.

John Glen: The Government is in the process of appointing clinical, legal and social care experts to advise the Cabinet Office on detailed technical considerations of the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry and will update Parliament in due course. The advice of experts will ensure the Government has the relevant expertise to make informed choices and to respond to the Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation following the publication of the final report on 20 May 2024.

Blood: Contamination

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Scottish and Welsh governments on infected blood (a) compensation and (b) interim payments.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to seek legislative consent for infected blood (a) compensation and (b) interim payments from the devolved administrations.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will convene a meeting with his counterparts in the devolved administrations to (a) discuss and (b) implement an infected blood compensation scheme.

John Glen: The Government is committed to working with the Devolved Governments where appropriate to develop an effective response that delivers across the UK. The Inquiry has recommended that a compensation scheme be set up on a UK-wide basis and I know there is a common determination to provide appropriate redress for victims of infected blood across the United Kingdom. I will ensure that we engage with the Devolved Governments as appropriate in respect of the Government’s ongoing work to respond to the Infected Blood Inquiry.

Civil Servants: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral answer of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs of 18 January 2024, Official Report column 1012, what the evidential basis is for the number of veterans employed through the civil service scheme.

Johnny Mercer: Sustainable, gainful employment is one of the most significant ways to enhance life outcomes for veterans and their families.Over 1,000 veterans to date have secured a job in the Civil Service through the ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ initiative and a further 200 veterans have been recruited through the 'Going Forward Into Employment' initiative. Both figures are based on data sent from Government Departments to the Office for Veterans' Affairs.

Department for Education

Apprentices: Small Businesses

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many SMEs have hosted more than 10 apprentices at any one time in each month since April 2023.

Robert Halfon: There were 998 non-levy employer accounts that had more than ten apprentices in learning at any one time between April 2023 and December 2023.The below table shows the number of non-levy employer accounts that had more than ten apprentices in learning at any one time in each month.MonthNumber of non-levy employer accounts with apprentices >10April 2023497May 2023518June 2023532July 2023530August 2023515September 23651October 23712November 23728December 23697

Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprenticeship starts were in each of the 30 apprenticeship funding bands in the 2022-23 academic year.

Robert Halfon: The below table outlines the number of starts, and the proportion of starts, on apprenticeship standards for the 2022/23 academic year split by the apprenticeship funding bands published by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education in August 2023. Starts were split across 28 funding bands in 2022/23.Max Funding Band2022/23 Starts (Rounded to the nearest 10)Proportion of Starts Total£1,50000%£2,00000%£2,50012500.4%£3,00038501.1%£3,50048101.4%£4,0004017011.9%£4,500207806.2%£5,000287808.6%£6,0004354012.9%£7,000291508.7%£8,000101003.0%£9,000135604.0%£10,00032901.0%£11,000153804.6%£12,000136004.0%£13,00043101.3%£14,00099903.0%£15,000182805.4%£16,00047001.4%£17,00016700.5%£18,000133404.0%£19,0009000.3%£20,00014300.4%£21,000180205.4%£22,00042501.3%£23,0002800.1%£24,00083902.5%£25,00028600.8%£26,000117403.5%£27,00081202.4%

T-Levels

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which colleges provide T Level courses; and which T Level courses each college provides.

Robert Halfon: Over 250 providers are delivering 18 T Levels in a range of in-demand subject areas in all regions of the country. A list of these providers is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-selected-to-deliver-t-levels.Each of these providers will have information on their website relating to their T Level curriculum offer as this differs by school or college, depending on local student demand and employer needs. Prospective students can also find details of the T Levels available in their area on GOV.UK at: https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/students/find.

Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprentices on a 12-month apprenticeship in the 2021-2022 academic year completed their endpoint assessment (a) on the date of, (b) one to three months after, (c) three to six months after and (d) more than six months after completing their apprenticeship.

Robert Halfon: The below table shows achievers (rounded to the nearest 100) in the 2021/22 academic year whose planned duration was 12 months.Months from last learning to end of EPAAchievementsProportion of total (%)EPA within a month of last learning2,20012%EPA 1-3 months after last learning13,30073%EPA 3-6 months after last learning2,20012%EPA more than 6 months after last learning6003%Total18,300100%

Business: Skilled Workers

Dr Jamie Wallis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage further and higher education providers to work with businesses to help meet local skills needs.

Robert Halfon: We are transforming skills through local skills improvement plans, which bring together businesses with further and higher education institutions. The plans are supported by £165 million of funding which helps providers respond to the skills needs identified by local businesses. We are also investing £300 million in Institutes of Technology, which are collaborations between business, higher education and further education, further driving our employer-led reforms.

Schools: Antisemitism

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisemitism in schools.

Damian Hinds: It is deeply concerning to see the huge rise in antisemitism following Hamas’s terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023. To see this form of hatred also take place in education is unacceptable.The government took immediate action in October 2023. First, to increase security measures at Jewish schools, colleges and nurseries - we announced £3 million of additional funding to the Community Security Trust.The Secretary of State also wrote to all schools and colleges on 17 October 2023, urging them to support Jewish students and highlighting our political impartiality guidance and advice on the Prevent programme.To support schools and colleges we published learning resources on our Educate Against Hate website.We are also providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations, which includes projects to tackle hate-related bullying on the basis of race and faith. The department has networks of ‘Prevent’ practitioners who provide training to school staff on radicalisation and empower teachers to challenge extremism in the classroom.We continue to monitor the situation carefully. Ministers have conducted several visits recently to listen to the experience of Jewish communities, including meeting with Dr David Landau who is Chair of Governors Menorah High School, one of the settings that temporarily closed in October over safety concerns.We are engaging regularly with faith groups and school leadership organisations to understand their concerns and use it to shape our response. This includes the Board of Jewish Deputies and Chinuch UK.In the Autumn Statement, on 22 November 2023, the government announced a further £7 million of funding over the next three years to help tackle antisemitism. This will help support schools, colleges, and universities to understand, recognise and deal with antisemitism effectively. We are preparing to issue an invitation for interested organisations to tender in the coming weeks. If anyone feels that specific issues in education are not being addressed, they can raise them directly to the department through the Counter Extremism helpline or our “Report Extremism” online form. We then engage with the police and local authorities to consider what action is needed.

Programme for International Student Assessment

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of PISA test scores.

Damian Hinds: The OECD’s PISA 2022 results showed that 15-year-old pupils in England performed above the OECD averages for all of reading, mathematics and science. While the pandemic has had an adverse impact on education across the world, and also affected the study, England was ranked 11th in maths and 13th in both reading and science – up from 27th in maths, 25th in reading and 16th in science in 2009.

Schools: Concrete

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on removing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete from the school estate.

Damian Hinds: Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of pupils and staff, which is why we have taken a precautionary approach and asked schools to vacate spaces known to contain RAAC until mitigations are put in place. To give a sense of the scale, there are around 22,000 schools and colleges in England, of which around 15,000 have at least one block constructed during the period in which RAAC may have been used. Due to the action we have taken to issue questionnaires, we now have responses from all schools and colleges with buildings from the era when RAAC was commonly used. All schools and colleges that advised us they suspected they may have RAAC have had a first survey to confirm if it is present. The vast majority of schools and colleges surveyed to date have been found to have no RAAC. Where it is present, it may be limited to a single classroom. So far, these surveys have confirmed a very small proportion of schools and colleges – 231, or around 1% – have RAAC present. In December 2023, we published an updated list of affected schools and colleges. Thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders the vast majority – 228, or 99% - were delivering full time face-to-face education for all pupils. At the time of publication, 3 schools had hybrid arrangements in place, all 3 are now in full-time face-to-face education for all pupils. Each school and college has a dedicated caseworker to help implement individual mitigation plans and we have dedicated contracts to enable delivery of alternative accommodation including temporary classrooms, and structural supports where appropriate. We will spend what it takes to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. All reasonable requests for additional help with revenue costs are being approved and we are funding further longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding projects to address the presence of RAAC in schools. Schools and colleagues will either be offered capital grants, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through School Rebuilding Programme.

Students: Mental Health

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department collects data on students who self-report (a) depression, (b) bad nerves and (c) anxiety.

David Johnston: The mental health of children and young people is an absolute priority for this government. The department wants to ensure all students have the opportunity to thrive, no matter their background or the challenges they may face.The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA, now part of the Joint Information Systems Committee) is responsible for collecting and publishing data about UK higher education. HESA collects data on the number of students declaring a disability, including mental health conditions. This is not disaggregated further to categories such as depression, bad nerves and anxiety.Statistics covering the academic years 2014/2015 to 2021/2022 are available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-15.From 2022/2023, students with multiple disabilities will disclose each of their disabilities instead of falling under a catch-all "multiple disabilities" category. However, depression, bad nerves, schizophrenia, anxiety, and other mental health conditions are still included in one mental health category.The department collects data on various aspects of children and young people’s wellbeing and mental health. Key sources of this data, both from the department and other stakeholders, are collated into the annual State of the Nation report on Children and Young People’s Wellbeing. The report brings together a range of published information from government, academic, voluntary, and private sector organisations to provide a clear narrative for all those interested in the wellbeing of children and young people in England. The most recent report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2022-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing.

Pupils: Sick Leave

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much ringfenced funding is available to local authorities to prevent school absence due to chronic health conditions.

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what number and proportion of state-educated students recorded school absences due to (a) chronic health conditions and (b) disabilities.

Damian Hinds: The department does not allocate funding to local authorities that is ringfenced for the purpose of preventing school absence due to chronic health conditions.Local authorities’ expenditure arising from the authority’s functions under section 19 in chapter III of part I (exceptional provision of education in pupil referral units or elsewhere), and under chapter II of part VI (school attendance), of the Education Act 1996, and their functions under the Children and Families Act 2014 to support the special education of children with health needs, can be funded from their dedicated schools grant allocations.The majority of absence from autumn to spring term 2022/23 was due to illness, which accounted for 4.5% of possible sessions in autumn term, and 3.6% in spring term. The department does not hold information about the number and proportion of state-educated students whose school absences are recorded as due to a chronic health condition or disability. The most recent school absence data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to allow transgender people who are deceased to be legally remembered by the gender they lived by.

Stuart Andrew: We recognise the sensitivity of these situations, particularly when family and friends are dealing with the loss of a loved one. The Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 provides for people to change their legal gender. Those who have undergone this process and acquired a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) before the time of their death will, of course, be recognised in their new gender. Without undergoing the process of legal gender recognition and acquiring a GRC under the provisions laid out in the GRA 2004, a person has not legally changed gender. Therefore they would not be recognised in their new gender upon the unfortunate event of their death. That said, where a person was using their new gender with an organisation prior to their death, and that was on their personal records, then we anticipate that the organisation would engage with their family members using the new gender. These organisations could include the NHS, their place of work or community groups. We recognise that everyone who decides to undergo a change in how their legal sex is recorded deserves our respect, support and compassion throughout the process. The process does not currently allow for third party applications, such as posthumous applications on behalf of a deceased friend or relative, as any application will be a deeply personal undertaking and choice. Following the GRA consultation and the subsequent changes we made to the application process, we have no plans to further amend the Act.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Syndactyly

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of people with syndactyly that are in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment.

Mims Davies: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is based on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the British Medical Association on preparatory work for legislation for the Work Capability Assessments.

Mims Davies: Following the announcement of changes to the Work Capability Assessment, officials are working with clinical experts in mental health and representatives from national organisations to define the Substantial Risk criteria which will be outlined in legislation.

Shared Housing: Government Assistance

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his department holds on the number and proportion of individuals in receipt of housing cost support at the shared accommodation rate with rent costs that (a) exceed and (b) are below the local housing allowance in each (i) rental market area and (ii) local authority area; and what estimate he has made of the median average gap between housing cost support and rent costs for individuals eligible for only the shared accommodation rate per (A) rental market area and (B) local authority area.

Mims Davies: This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. The Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) of the Local Housing Allowance applies to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit claimants who are under 35 years of age, living on their own, and renting privately, they will be entitled to the SAR regardless of the size of property that they rent. These rules reflect the housing expectations of people of a similar age not in receipt of benefits. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.For 2022/23 we are projected to have spent almost £30 billion to support renters with their housing costs.In addition, LHA rates, including SAR will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents at a cost of £1.2 billion. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.

Occupational Health: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help ensure that disabled people who are (a) in work and (b) are seeking to return to work have access to occupational health services.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure the UK's obligations under the International Labour Organization Convention on Occupational Health Services are met.

Mims Davies: As a founding member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the UK is committed to our obligations to the organisation and continues to be actively engaged in its work. The Government’s Occupational Health (OH) reform programme is focused on increasing private market coverage of employer led OH to help businesses support disabled employees and those with health conditions stay in, succeed in, and return to work. This programme of work includes the OH subsidy pilot for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the £1m innovation fund launched in January 2023 which aim to increase access to and capacity in OH. The Occupational Health Workforce Expansion Funding Scheme also launched in July 2023 and funds doctors and nurses to undertake Occupational Health training courses and qualifications. In the summer 2023, to better support employee health, the Government consulted on ways to increase employer uptake of OH services. The Government’s response to the Occupational Health: Working Better consultation was published following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023. This outlined plans to imminently set up an expert task and finish group to support the development of a voluntary minimum framework for quality OH provision which employers could adopt to help improve employee health at work.   The response also explored options for new voluntary national workplace health and disability standards; a potential new SME group purchasing framework supported by a digital marketplace; and using the learning, including from our existing Workforce Expansion scheme, to consider a long-term strategic OH workforce approach to a multidisciplinary work and health workforce for businesses and providers to improve support for their employees.

Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) PIP and (b) Employment and Support Allowance medical consultations.

Mims Davies: Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance assessments are not medical consultations requiring a health professional (HP) to diagnose a condition, its severity or recommend treatment options. They are functional assessments, which require an HP to look at the impact of conditions and impairments on an individual’s daily life. All assessment providers (APs) have set standards regarding the quality of assessments. The department closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the APs. Independent audit, a team comprising of experienced HPs, continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers. Audit refers to a comprehensive check of the elements of the assessment, including the evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the assessment report completed by the HP. The check is completed against a set of guidelines to ensure a consistent approach is taken. This ensures that assessment reports are fit for purpose, clinically justified and sound, and provide sufficient information for the department to make an informed decision on entitlement to benefit. In addition, the department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising health and disability benefit services. It will create a more efficient service, an improved claimant experience and help increase trust in decision making. Furthermore, an ongoing programme of engagement and research has been established to ensure that the design and delivery of the HTP is rooted in evidence.

Food Banks

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of food banks operating (a) as of 23 January 2024 (b) in 2010.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people in food poverty.

Jo Churchill: The latest statistics show that in 2021/22, 7% (4.7m) of all individuals lived in food insecure households. For working age adults this figure was 7% (2.9m), for children it was 12% (1.7m) and for pensioners it was 1% (0.2m).  Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in the operation of foodbanks. We do not have reliable statistics on the number of foodbanks operating.

Universal Credit: Farmers

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2024 to Question 9914 on Universal Credit: Farmers, whether he has made an assessment of the potential financial impact of moving from Working Tax Credits to Universal Credit on recipient farmers in the last five years; and if he will undertake an assessment in the next three months.

Jo Churchill: No assessment has been made and there are no plans to make an assessment.

Treasury

Public Sector: Pay

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page six of the NHS Employers publication entitled Government offer in principle for the NHS Agenda for Change workforce, published in March 2023, whether the Government plans to review the effectiveness of other public sector pay review bodies in the 2023-24 financial year.

Laura Trott: The Government is committed to the Independent Pay Review Body process, which remains the proper, established mechanism for determining pay in the public sector.However, the government recognises the importance of keeping the process under review.

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme

Matt Western: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme on (a) small businesses, (b) investment and (c) job creation.

Nigel Huddleston: At Autumn Statement 2023, the Government published the report of an independent evaluation of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), conducted in 2022. The full report can be found on the GOV.UK Website here: Evaluation of Venture Capital Schemes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Research: Tax Allowances

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made in reducing R&D tax credit fraud.

Nigel Huddleston: In July 2023 HMRC published their compliance approach to R&D reliefs (HMRC's approach to Research and Development tax reliefs) setting out the scale of non-compliance in the R&D schemes, action taken by the government to date and how HMRC are tackling R&D non-compliance. HMRC will set out steps it is taking to tackle error and fraud in its Compliance Action Plan, to be published in due course. HMRC will also provide updates on the level of error and fraud for R&D tax credits in their Annual Report and Accounts 2023-2024 to be published in July 2024.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on monthly car insurance premiums.

Bim Afolami: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including the financial services regulators, on an ongoing basis. Insurers make commercial decisions about the pricing of insurance based on their assessment on the likelihood and expected cost of a claim. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent regulator and responsible for supervising the insurance industry. The FCA have introduced several reforms, including the Consumer Duty rules, to ensure consumers are treated fairly in regard to pricing.

Bank Services: Defence

Derek Twigg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of SMEs in the defence sector that have been denied (a) banking facilities and (b) other forms of finance because of environmental, social and governance policies since 2020.

Bim Afolami: The Government recognises the vital role small and medium-sized enterprises play in fuelling economic growth, and it is important they can access the banking services they need. Last year the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to collect evidence to help us understand where account closures and refusals are happening and why. The FCA published their initial findings on 19 September, and are doing further work with firms to verify the data and to better understand the reasons behind account refusals. In addition, HM Treasury is continuing to engage with industry to understand any existing or emerging issues regarding bank account access for businesses. The Government welcomes steps that the financial services sector is taking to improve understanding of how firms can access financial services. In December, guidance specifically aimed at businesses operating in the defence and security sectors was published by UK Finance, the trade association for the banking and finance industry, and ADS, the trade association for the UK’s aerospace, defence, security and space sectors. This work was supported by the Department for Business and Trade. The Government has been clear that it does not support the exclusion of defence companies from access to debt and equity capital on the basis of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations. This was made evident in a Written Ministerial Statement made by the Secretary of State for Defence, in conjunction with HM Treasury, that stated “the important values within ESG should not undermine capabilities developed to help us preserve peace and security, without which sustaining those values would not be possible”. In addition, HM Treasury has recently consulted on a potential regulatory framework for ESG ratings providers which would aim to improve transparency and promote good conduct, which will help address some of the issues which defence companies have raised.

Research: Tax Allowances

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the advisory market to support businesses claiming R&D tax relief.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC recognises that agents play a vital role in the Research and Development (R&D) tax reliefs regime and around 90% of R&D claims involve an agent.Agents offer valuable support for their clients to access the relief they are entitled to. The Government expects all tax agents, including R&D advisers, to adhere to the HMRC Standard for Agents, which sets out HMRC’s expectations for all individuals and businesses involved in professionally representing or advising taxpayers. In addition, the government is continuing to explore options to raise standards in the tax advice market. HMRC’s dedicated R&D Anti-Abuse Unit, focuses on the most complex and high-risk cases including tackling agents actively promoting the R&D schemes to businesses unlikely to be eligible. This includes working with the Advertising Standards Agency to remove false advertising by agents.

Inland Border Facilities: Ashford

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC plans to take when the special development order expires for the operation of Sevington Internal Border Facility.

Nigel Huddleston: As set out in the Border Target Operating Model, published in August 2023, HMRC is exploring options on how to operate inland border facility services on a commercial basis. This work is being done in conjunction with other government departments who use the site – specifically the Department for Transport (who own the site) and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. This work is being led by Cabinet Office who are considering what the best use of the site should be and the arrangements needed to be put in place for it post-2025, which is when the current planning permission expires.

Taxis: VAT

Dame Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in VAT rates on private hire vehicles and minicab journeys on (a) driver earnings and (b) jobs in the industry.

Nigel Huddleston: The VAT treatment of private hire vehicle services has not changed. The Government will consult on the potential impacts of the Uber Britannia Ltd v Sefton MBC High Court ruling, and will publish a consultation in due course.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2024 to Question 8948 on Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution and with reference to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 107065 on Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, for what reason he did not provide the figures requested.

Gareth Davies: I would note that procurement cards were introduced by the last Labour Government, who welcomed their use, saying they are a ‘good example of Government learning from the private sector’. Procurement cards assist with the reduction in procurement bureaucracy, boost efficiency, support the Government’s prompt payment initiative for Small and Medium businesses, and help maintain cash flow to suppliers. They are used as defined by the departmental procurement acquisition model, agreed by procurement and finance colleagues. Controls are in place that limit purchase types and values in line with individual departmental controls. Procurement cards are held by officials, not Ministers or Special Advisers. HMT incurred the following number of expenditure and total costs or those are included in the table below for the periods in question related to question 8948. Number of TransactionsTotal Spend2022 (Jan - Dec)1021£119,1662023 (Jan - Sep)929£103,841 I note that the 2009 figures from the last Labour government are comparable with a total figure of £111,423.

Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 8709 on Treasury: Electronic purchasing card solution, what the latest figure available is for the number of government procurement cards held by people to make purchases against his Department’s budget.

Gareth Davies: HMT currently has 65 electronic government procurement cards in use as at 22/01/24. I would note that procurement cards were introduced by the last Labour Government, who welcomed their use, saying they are a ‘good example of Government learning from the private sector’.I would like to note that the levels of expenditure for 2022 as a comparable full calendar year totalled £119k which was on par with 2009’s total expenditure of £111k.Procurement cards assist with the reduction in procurement bureaucracy, boost efficiency, support the Government’s prompt payment initiative for Small and Medium businesses, and help maintain cash flow to suppliers. They are used as defined by the departmental procurement acquisition model, agreed by procurement and finance colleagues. Controls are in place that limit purchase types and values in line with individual departmental controls. Procurement cards are held by officials, not Ministers or Special Advisers.

World Economic Forum

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse was of his flight to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2024.

Gareth Davies: Costs for all overseas ministerial travel is regularly published in transparency returns.These figures are scheduled to be published in due course.

Infrastructure

Darren Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to update the Analysis of the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline 2021, published in August 2021.

Gareth Davies: The IPA's National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline is a key publication outlining planned and projected investment in UK major infrastructure and construction over the next 10 years. The 2023 Pipeline will be published in due course.

Government: Procurement

Darren Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many major infrastructure projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio have (a) received final approval since April 2021 and (b) had their summary business cases published.

Gareth Davies: The government publishes a range of information on all major projects on the Government Major Projects Portfolio online as part of the IPA’s annual report. This includes project narratives, whole-life costs and monetised benefits where available. Further information on major projects and published business cases for relevant projects and programmes can be found on Gov.uk.

Treasury: Ministers' Private Offices

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any refurbishments have been made to ministerial offices in his Department in each of the last two years.

Gareth Davies: There have been no full refurbishments to ministerial offices during the last two years.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the consultation on the Green Taxonomy.

Bim Afolami: We expect to consult shortly. Following the consultation, we will analyse responses and provide a government response in accordance with Cabinet Office consultation principles.

Department for Transport

London North Eastern Railway: Fares

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department was involved in the decision of LNER to introduce its Simpler Fares pilot scheme, as announced on 16 January 2024.

Huw Merriman: The Department has supported London North Eastern Railway (LNER) to introduce its two-year long trial and we will carefully consider the results.

Railways: Standards

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number of services p-coded by each train operating company in each of the last 12 months.

Huw Merriman: Since 17 February 2023, the Office of Rail and Road has published figures for all train operating companies' late notice pre-cancellations "P-code" for resource availability (train crew and rolling stock) on a periodic basis.

Railways

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to update his Department's publication entitled Rail network enhancements pipeline.

Huw Merriman: The Prime Minister’s Network North announcement detailed an unprecedented number of commitments to rail enhancements across the country, using funding redirected from Phase 2 of HS2. We are working with our Arms Length Bodies and other delivery partners to plan the delivery schedule for these schemes and the necessary adjustments to existing schemes within the rail network enhancements portfolio.

Railways: Passengers

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the change in the number of people travelling by passenger rail from 2024 to (a) 2030, (b) 2040 and (c) 2050.

Huw Merriman: In line with our published guidance, the Department has developed a number of possible rail demand forecasts in both the medium and long term. The Department considers a wide range of evidence for our project appraisals and policy decisions.

Train Operating Companies: Contracts

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on which train operating companies have engaged external contractors for revenue protection (a) on trains and (b) at stations.

Huw Merriman: My Department is aware that external contractors to support improved revene protection have been engaged for Chiltern and Northern on trains and for Southeastern, Chiltern, Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway at stations. It is important that train operating companies are protecting revenue and that passengers are paying for their fare, reducing the subsidy from taxpayers into the railway. Over the last three years, the Government has contributed £45.9bn, just over £1,500 per household, to the running of the railways which is unsustainable.

Darlington Station: Investment

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the £139 million investment in Darlington railway station on (a) Darlington and (b) the North East.

Huw Merriman: Through provision of additional through and bay platforms, the decision to provide £105m of Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline funding to deliver the Darlington Station Enhancements scheme will provide direct benefits to rail users throughout the North-East through journey time and reliability improvements. When combined with complementary investment from Tees Valley Combined Authority – who are delivering a multi-storey car park and public realm improvements – the scheme will also generate wider economic benefits to Darlington.

Great Western Main Line: Railway Track

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on track faults on the Great Western Main Line.

Huw Merriman: Improving performance on the Great Western Main Line is a high priority for Network Rail and my Department. Passengers are not getting the level of service they deserve, although improvements are starting to show in the most recent rail period in terms of delay minutes. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has launched an investigation into poor train punctuality and reliability in the Network Rail Wales & Western Region and we look forward to the recommendations of this review. I have been working closely with Network Rail on this issue over recent months including reviewing their improvement plan and joining a deep dive session to discuss progress against that plan. I also regularly discuss the issue with the Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines and am shortly due to meet with Rob Cairns, Network Rail’s Interim Managing Director for Western and Wales to reinforce the need for rapid improvements in performance.

Railways: Storms

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the ability of the rail industry to respond to recent storm events.

Huw Merriman: The Department is engaging regularly with Network Rail, train operating companies and the wider rail industry to ensure their seasonal preparedness plans are in place with clear mitigations outlined to minimise disruption due to storms. Network Rail and train operators have well-established operational measures to manage services safely during incidents affecting railway operations, including extreme weather events. In context, it has been a particularly stormy autumn and winter, with ten named storms this season so far.

Railways: WiFi

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with train operating companies on Wi-Fi on trains.

Huw Merriman: I have not had any recent discussions with train operating companies about Wi-Fi. There have not been discussions at official level recently either.

Railways: Strikes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met with the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen to discuss industrial action on railways.

Huw Merriman: The Secretary of State and I have facilitated discussions with rail trade unions to help resolve national disputes, but it is the role of the rail industry, as the employer, to discuss industrial action on the railways.These discussions led to a fair and reasonable offer which has resolved the dispute with RMT, TSSA and Unite after it was overwhelmingly accepted by union members, meaning ASLEF is the only rail union still refusing to put the offer to a vote.We continue to urge ASLEF to put industry’s fair offer to its members in the train operating companies which is the only way to end this dispute.

Electric Scooters: Hire Services

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to extend e-scooter rental trials to more areas.

Anthony Browne: Ministers are considering further options for trials after May 2024 and if any changes are agreed these will be announced in the usual way.

Unadopted Roads

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require local authorities to adopt unadopted roads that are (a) in a state of disrepair and (b) subject to public right of way.

Guy Opperman: The position under the 1980 Highways Act has not changed under successive governments. The Department has no plans to review those parts of the Highways Act 1980 which cover the process for local highway authority adoption of private roads into the public road network. The legislation ensures that any new roads that are adopted and then maintained at public expense are built to the required standard. The Department provides advice to developers and highway authorities on these matters, which can be found on gov.uk at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adoption-of-roads-by-highway-authorities.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a standardised tender process for local authorities to install electric vehicle charging points.

Anthony Browne: I agree entirely and as part of our £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, officials are working to deliver exactly this.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the electric vehicle (a) chargepoint and (b) infrastructure grant to include the installation of cross-pavement cable gullies.

Anthony Browne: As part of the Plan for Drivers, the Government announced its intention to expand the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant as a trial to support the installation of safe cross-pavement solutions. This measure would apply across the UK and is intended to make EV ownership a more practical option for those without off-street parking.The Government will closely monitor this trial, once implemented, to determine the success of the rollout and decide on future policy accordingly.

Roads: North East

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is monitoring the adequacy of (a) pothole and (b) other road repairs by local authorities in the North East.

Guy Opperman: The Department has recently introduced some new reporting requirements for all local highway authorities to ensure that there is transparency around how the additional funding provided as part of the Prime Minister’s Network North plan is being used. All local authorities receiving this funding should publish prominently on their websites by March 2024 a summary of the additional resurfacing work they will deliver, or have already delivered, with the new funding in the 23/24 and 24/25 financial years. Thereafter they will be required to publish quarterly reports summarising what additional work they have done, including, for example, which roads they have resurfaced. This will allow local people to see for themselves how well their local authority is carrying out its responsibilities. DfT monitors the condition of local roads, which is reported here : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/road-condition-statistics-data-tables-rdc

Community Transport

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the viability of community transport schemes.

Guy Opperman: The Department makes available over £3 million each year to community transport operators through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), supporting them to continue delivering inclusive and accessible transport across the country. A new uplift of 60% has been added to BSOG claims for community transport operators until 31 March 2025. This means operators will receive £1.60 for every £1 claimed, reflecting the increased costs faced by the sector. We have also encouraged Local Transport Authorities to engage with community transport operators when preparing their Bus Service Improvement Plans, which are vital in setting out an area’s long term plans for bus services and how they will be improved. Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) in England is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 16 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.

Bus Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to maintain bus services.

Guy Opperman: The Government has announced over £4.5 billion to support and improve bus services since 2020. This includes £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding to maintain services during the pandemic; over £1 billion allocated in 2022 to help local transport authorities deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans; a further £1 billion redirected from HS2 to improve bus services in the North and the Midlands as part of Network North; £300 million in ongoing funding to support and improve services until April 2025; and nearly £600 million to cap single bus fares at £2 from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024.From the further £1 billion redirected from HS2, City of York council has been allocated £1.153m as a first instalment, for 2024/25. The Department also makes around £260 million available every year to bus operators and local authorities through the Bus Service Operators Grant to help run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation. £42 million of this funding goes to local authorities.

Driving: Eyesight

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under what circumstances DVLA drivers’ medical visual (a) field and (b) acuity testing will be administered free of charge.

Guy Opperman: When the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) is investigating whether a licence holder or applicant with a visual disorder is fit to drive, all costs of any tests commissioned by the DVLA as part of that investigation are paid for by the DVLA and not the applicant.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) rural and (b) cross-county border bus services.

Guy Opperman: Since March 2020, the Government has announced over £4.5 billion to support and improve bus services. This includes £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding to maintain services during the pandemic; over £1 billion allocated in 2022 to help local transport authorities (LTAs) deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans; a further £1 billion redirected from HS2 to improve bus services in the North and the Midlands as part of Network North; £300 million in ongoing funding to support and improve services until April 2025; and nearly £600 million to cap single bus fares at £2 from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024.   The Government also makes over £200 million available directly to bus operators every year through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) to keep fares down and help them maintain an extensive network. LTAs in England outside of London also receive £42 million annually through the BSOG for the purpose of subsidising socially necessary services that would otherwise be commercially unviable, helping to support rural routes. The Government believes LTAs, working with operators, are best placed to determine the shape and structure of local bus services. The funding we are providing to the sector can be used to support and improve services across England outside London, including those running in rural areas or those that cross county borders. In addition, our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund in England is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 16 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.

Home Office

Vetting: Standards

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time for a DBS check is in (a) Canterbury constituency, (b) Kent and (c) England.

Laura Farris: DBS publishes its performance data on a quarterly basis. For the third quarter of 2023-24, DBS achieved the following performance: The target to process 85% of Basic checks within 2 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.1%. The 85% target was met on day 2 and the average turnaround time was 0.9 days. The target to process 85% of Standard checks within 5 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.5%, the 85% target was met on day 3 and the average turnaround time was 1.5 days. The target to process 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days was not met during the quarter, with an average attainment of 76.7%. The 80% target was met on day 18 and the average turnaround time was 11.5 days. For the Canterbury constituency, the average turnaround time between 1/04/2023 and 31/12/2023 was 19.8 days for Enhanced checks and 1.3 days for Standard checks. For the Kent, the average turnaround time between 1/04/2023 and 31/12/2023 was 19.9 days for Enhanced checks and 1.3 days for Standard checks.

Immigration Controls: EU Countries

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is planning an awareness campaign, on changes to UK-EU travel requirements associated with the EU’s (a) Entry/Exit System and (b) European Travel Information and Authorisation System.

Tom Pursglove: The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new systems. This includes working with port owners and operators to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts at the border.A cross-government communication group consisting of Home Office, Department for Transport, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Cabinet Office teams has been established and is developing a communication strategy for both the travelling public and trade stakeholder groups.

Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to seek bilateral Youth Mobility Scheme agreements with EU countries.

Tom Pursglove: The UK remain open to negotiating new Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories, including EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal arrangement, which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the details agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.

Refugees: Ukraine

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the application process for the Ukraine Extension Scheme.

Tom Pursglove: The Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES) enables Ukrainian nationals already in the UK with permission to enter, or stay, to be eligible to continue their stay in the UK. To qualify for the UES an applicant must either hold permission to be in the UK on or between 18 March 2022 and 16 November 2023, or have previously held permission to be in the UK which expired on or after 1 January 2022. Those who have been granted permission by 16 November will have until 16 May 2024 to submit an application under the scheme. The Home Office routinely keeps application processes under review to ensure a positive user experience, optimal efficiency, and a robust application of the Immigration Rules. The Home Office continues to work closely with our European counterparts, including the Ukrainian Government, and keeps the future of our schemes and any future need for extension to the existing 36 months’ leave under review, in line with developments of the situation in Ukraine. We are also mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead.

Immigration Controls: EU Countries

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken with his (a) French and (b) other EU counterparts to prepare for implementation of the EU Entry/Exit System.

Tom Pursglove: The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new systems. This includes working with port owners and operators to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts at the border.

Asylum: Children

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children seeking asylum were in Home Office hotel accommodation as of 24 January 2024.

Tom Pursglove: As of the 24 January 2024, there were no children accommodated in the remaining UASC hotel.

Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress his Department has made with the Executive Office of Northern Ireland in establishing a grant agreement for the successor arrangement to the Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office continues to engage with Northern Ireland government departments to progress agreements to ensure continued delivery for service users in Northern Ireland. We have multiple agreements with varying Northern Ireland government departments in place to achieve this.

Home Office: Ministers' Private Offices

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any refurbishments have been made to ministerial offices in his Department in each of the last two years.

Chris Philp: No refurbishments were made in Ministerial Offices in the Home Office in the last 2 years.

Asylum: Belfast

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure it is complying with relevant legislation on housing in multiple occupation in the context of the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers in Belfast.

Tom Pursglove: Home Office accommodation provider, Mears, is contractually obliged to ensure that asylum accommodation in Northern Ireland meets all statutory requirements, including housing in multiple occupation (HMO) licensing and planning.The Statement of Requirements, available via the link below, sets out the full details of the contractual obligations:http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-1112/AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf(opens in a new tab).

Migrants: Health Services

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the draft Immigration (Health Charge) Amendment Order 2023, what his planned timetable is for the implementation of the immigration health surcharge.

Tom Pursglove: The Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2024 will come into force on 6 February.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the clarity of the updated caseworker guidance for processing late applications for the EU Settlement Scheme from people with permanent residency cards.

Tom Pursglove: The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) caseworker guidance was updated on 16 January in light of operational experience and stakeholder feedback regarding the assessment of reasonable grounds for applying late to the EUSS.The updated guidance now addresses circumstances where a person may have had a reasonable belief they did not need to apply earlier to the EUSS, or a reasonable basis for being unaware they needed to apply. This may include where they had been issued with a permanent residence document under the EEA Regulations, which implemented free movement law in the UK.

Fire and Rescue Services: Standards

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of firefighters on average response times to fire and rescue-related emergency calls.

Chris Philp: The government is committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to do their important work and to keep the public safe. In 2023/24, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.6 billion.Decisions on how their resources, including staff, are best deployed to meet their core functions including crewing and meeting response times, is a matter for each fire and rescue authority, based on risks identified within local Community Risk Management Plans (CRMPs).

Fire and Rescue Services: Labour Turnover

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the most recent funding settlement for fire and rescue services on (a) recruitment and (b) retention of firefighters.

Chris Philp: Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work.The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is due to publish the Final Local Government Finance Settlement 2024/25 in February 2024. Figures from the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement indicate that standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £79.1 million in 2024/25. On average, this is an increase of 4.7 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.Decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on steps to increase charge rates for serial perpetrators of (a) domestic abuse and (b) sexual violence in (i) Newport West constituency and (ii) Wales.

Laura Farris: The Home Office engages regularly with partners, including the Welsh Government and Police and Crime Commissioners, on policing priorities. This includes improving the response to domestic abuse, sexual violence, delivering the commitments in the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy (2021) and the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan (2022), and bringing more perpetrators to justice. Policing is a reserved matter, and the existing governance and partnership arrangements provide a significant level of integration and autonomy.To improve conviction rates and understanding of why domestic abuse cases do not progress, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are developing a Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (DA JJP). The DA JJP is welcomed by the Home Office and is expected to be published in March 2024.In addition, in 2021 we published the Rape Review Action Plan and set out a series of commitments to deliver cross-system improvements in the criminal justice response to rape. One such commitment was Operation Soteria, a joint policing and CPS programme, to develop new national operating models for the investigation and prosecution of rape and support police and prosecutors across England and Wales to ensure investigations follow rigorous procedures directed at the conduct of the suspect.

Asylum: Housing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal migrants are due to be rehoused from hotels to other forms of accommodation in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Romford constituency by the end of February 2024.

Michael Tomlinson: The Home Office has always been clear that use of hotels as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers was a short-term measure to ensure that we met our statutory obligation to accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute during a period of unprecedented numbers of small boat arrivals.We are making significant progress in closing hotels, with 50 due to be closed by the end of January and many more in the coming months.The programme of closures will be managed carefully to ensure all supported asylum seekers are provided with suitable alternative accommodation elsewhere in the estate. Dispersal accommodation and large disused military sites are cheaper for the taxpayer and less impactful on communities.Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Asylum: Bibby Stockholm

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria are used for selecting people to be accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm.

Michael Tomlinson: We assess every individual against an agreed suitability criteria, guidance on this can be found here: Allocation of accommodation (publishing.service.gov.uk).Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

Brook House Immigration Removal Centre

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on the (a) longest and (b) average length of time people are held in Brook House immigration removal centre.

Michael Tomlinson: The Home Office publishes data on detention in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on length of detention for people leaving detention is published in table Det_D03 of the ‘Detailed detention dataset’. The latest data relates to the end of September 2023. However this data is not broken down by last place of detention as this does not show where an individual spent their time in detention. In some cases, an individual may have spent a period of time detained elsewhere before being moved to their last place of detention.Data on people leaving detention by last place of detention is published in table Det_04c of the ‘Detention summary tables’. However, this data is not broken down by length of detention, for the reason given above.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

MOD Boscombe Down: Domestic Visits

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have visited Boscombe Down in the last 12 months.

Chris Philp: There have been no ministerial visits to Boscombe Down in the last 12 months. Home Office officials have visited during this period.

Ministry of Defence

Military Bases

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military bases the UK maintained abroad in each year since 2015.

James Heappey: The UK currently maintains a number of military establishments abroad which comprise of permanent operating bases and overseas training establishments. The data to answer this question is being drawn from across multiple areas of Defence and will take longer to review and collate. I will write to the hon. Member with a full answer as soon as the information is available and will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Navy: Military Exercises

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of Royal Navy training exercises abandoned in each year since 2019.

James Heappey: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Aircraft Carriers: Deployment

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there is a minimum number of vessels in a Royal Navy carrier battle group.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the last exercise was that included a full carrier battle group.

James Heappey: The composition and size of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) deployments are tailored to meet the operational requirement and all options are continuously reviewed to ensure optimum Royal Navy output. The last CSG deployment between September and November 2023 included exercising and integration with NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force, operating in the Norwegian Sea, Baltic Sea and High North with five Royal Navy/RFA ships as well as vessels from partners and allies.

Military Exercises

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many international military training exercises UK personnel took part in each year since 2015.

James Heappey: I refer the hon. Member to my letter dated 12 December 2023 to Question 13864 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne, (Mr Healey) which was deposited in the Library of the House.Armed Forces: Military Exercises (pdf, 57.5KB)

Air Force: Military Exercises

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of RAF training exercises abandoned in each year since 2019.

James Heappey: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Army: Military Exercises

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of Army training exercises abandoned in each year since 2019.

James Heappey: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) budget and (b) spending was of the  Independent review of UK Armed Forces incentivisation.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The total budget allocated and approved for the Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation was £8.5 million. The final overall cost was £9.2 million, including VAT where applicable. This did not include pay costs which were budgeted for in existing workstreams and Defence/single Service budgets.

LGBT Veterans Independent Review

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) budget and (b) spending was of the Independent Review into the service and experience of LGBT veterans who served prior to 2000.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The original budget for the LGBT Veterans Independent Review (not including staff costs) was £106,000, based on the Review being completed within six months. Following agreement between Lord Etherton and the Government, the Review was extended to twelve months. The actual cost amounted to £503,000.

Army: Recruitment

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2024 to Question 9088 on Armed Forces Recruitment, and with refence to Army Jobs' recruitment collaboration with YouTubers through a Fortnite video game session on Twitch in January 2024, whether his Department paid the social media influencers featured in the livestream cinematic trailer.

Dr Andrew Murrison: No influencers were used in the cinematic trailer which promoted a series of gaming influencer livestreams.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Russian armed forces personnel (a) killed in action and (b) wounded in Ukraine since February 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Russian (a) main battle tanks, (b) armoured vehicles, (c) fixed wing aircraft, (d) artillery pieces, (e) surface ships and (f) submarines destroyed in Ukraine since February 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of mercenaries in private military companies operating alongside Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine since February 2022.

James Heappey: We estimate that approximately 350,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded since the start of the conflict. We also estimate that over 2,600 Russian main battle tanks, 4,900 armoured vehicles (armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles), 101 fixed wing aircraft, 1,400 artillery pieces, six surface ships and one submarine has been destroyed since the start of the conflict. Since February 2022, we estimate over 78,000 personnel have served with the Wagner Private Military Company, including both recruited prisoners and regular Wagner contractors, and over 7,000 personnel have served with the 'Redut' Private Military Company. There are also numerous other smaller Private Military Companies serving alongside the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine which we are unable to provide estimates for. The deaths of personnel from these organisations are not reflected in Russian official military death tolls, however Wagner Group mercenaries likely suffered approximately 40,000 wounded and 20,000 killed.

Nuclear Weapons: Infrastructure

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of nuclear weapons infrastructure.

James Cartlidge: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 January 2024 to Question 7792 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne.Nuclear Power: Infrastructure  (docx, 14.8KB)

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 10351 on Armed Forces: Housing, if he will provide a breakdown of the number of military housing units treated for faults not listed in the previous question.

James Cartlidge: The Department does not hold the information in the format requested and it can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Annington Homes

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on buying back ownership of the Annington Homes estate.

James Cartlidge: To test further our enfranchisement rights and whether the exercise of those rights will deliver value for money for the taxpayer, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has recently launched a small number of additional test cases. In addition, we continue to prepare for the Court of Appeal hearing, which is scheduled for July, where the Court will consider Annington Homes’ appeal, on limited grounds, of the High Court’s judgment, which dismissed all of Annington’s challenges against MOD.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of repair work in (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation in 2023.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence is unable to accurately report costs within calendar years as final spend is analysed and reported at the end of each Financial Year (FY). Therefore, the Department can only provide costs for the most recent complete FY. In FY 2022-23, £35.09 million was spent on the repair and maintenance of both occupied and unoccupied Service Family Accommodation. In FY 2022-23, £8.4 million was spent on maintenance tasks for Single Living Accommodation (SLA). The majority of repair work to SLA is dealt with as part of the core contract for the Built Estate and cannot be separately reported.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a breakdown of (a) single living accommodation and (b) service family accommodation occupancy by rank.

James Cartlidge: The below table shows the breakdown of single living accommodation (SLA) occupancy by NATO Rank and SLA type for all armed forces personnel as at 24 January 2024.  SLA Type NATO Rank4ACIJOSXYZTotalOF0~~~~~~~~~~10OF14040~100201099020~10303,230OF211040~110366030190~~504,190OF32020~70590~1,640~~302,370OF4~50~10180~810~~101,070OF5~10~~30~280~~~320OF6~~~~~~80~~~90OF7~~~~~~30~~~40OF8~~~~~~10~~~10OF9~~~~~~~~~~~OR21,55064020920~30~50404,70023,42036,330OR327010~~~10101204907,3408,260OR4390250~370~202201307108,58010,670OR6210110~180~104,440~306405,620OR79030~80~103,010~~503,270OR84010~20~~1,440~~101,510OR92020~20~~790~~20870Total2,7401,250201,8706,4901,1201,29705,2905,94040,19077,860The below table shows the breakdown of service family accommodation (SFA) occupancy by NATO Rank and SFA type for all armed forces personnel as at 24 January 2024.  SFA TypeNATO Rank12345ABCDTotalOF1~~~20200~2050~290OF2~~306101920~50140502,830OF3~~3001,800690~2050202,870OF4~5082029070~~10~1,240OF510602404010~~~~350OF6103060~~~~~~110OF71020~~~~~~~40OF810~~~~~~~~10OF9~~~~~~~~~~OR2~~~1010~1,8002,3801604,350OR3~~~20~~1,2301,9602003,400OR4~~104020~1,8805,2507307,930OR6~~205040~9004,2007605,960OR7~~104030~4202,4005803,480OR8~~~2030~1401102601,550OR9~~104040~20390230720Total401601,5202,9803,080~6,47017,9102,98035,150 Please note that for both tables, figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, where numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias. Totals have been rounded independently and therefore may not equal the sum of their rounded parts.~ is 5 or fewer. NATO Rank CodeRankOF1 – OF2Junior OfficersOF3 – OF5Senior OfficersOF6 – OF10General OfficersOR1 – OR4Enlisted RanksOR5 – OR9Non-commissioned Officers Full detail of NATO rank codings across the Services can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tri-service-pension-codes-april-2019/key-to-rank-codes-april-2019

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the status is of all scimitar combat reconnaissance vehicles that are no longer in active service.

James Cartlidge: It is taking time to collate the information. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Defence Equipment & Support: Health and Safety

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 48 of his Department's Defence Equipment and Support Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, published on 20 July 2023, what the total budget was for DE&S World Environment and Safety Day.

James Cartlidge: The cost of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) World Environment Day events was £5,814 plus VAT.The cost of DE&S Safety Day events was £7,905 plus VAT.In addition, Safety Day included the 'Spotlight on Safety Immersive Event' at a cost of £109,752 plus VAT. This event involved the re-enactment of a number of historic Safety incidents, videos of which continue to be used as training material underpinning all DE&S safety courses.

Defence Equipment & Support: Health and Safety

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 48 of his Department's Defence Equipment and Support Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, published on 20 July 2023, what the cost to the taxpayer was of the mock health and safety prosecution trial event.

James Cartlidge: The cost of the mock health and safety prosecution trial event was £6,950 plus VAT.

Defence Equipment: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 10 of the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, CP 811, published in March 2023, how much of the £560 million announced in autumn 2022 for war stocks replenishment has been (a) allocated and (b) awarded to contractors.

James Cartlidge: To date, contracts have been awarded for £445 million of the £560 million resilience package announced in autumn 2022. The funding was spread over two financial years, and work progresses to commit the remainder of the funding as soon as possible.

Trident Submarines: Procurement

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been spent on the Dreadnought programme.

James Cartlidge: As of 31 March 2023, £14.7 billion had been spent on the concept, assessment, and early delivery phases of the Dreadnought Programme.

St Kilda: Firing Ranges

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate the cost of relocating the Deep Sea Range on St Kilda.

James Cartlidge: We have no plans to provide an estimate of the cost of relocating the Deep Sea Range on St Kilda as it is not Government policy to support such a course of action.

St Kilda: Firing Ranges

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has paid the National Trust for Scotland to lease St Kilda for the Deep Sea Range (a) in total and (b) in each year for which lease payments have been made.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not lease a Deep Sea Range at St Kilda. However, parts of St Kilda are leased by the MOD from National Trust Scotland (NTS). The current 25-year lease between the MOD and NTS began in 2003 at a fixed rent of £100,000 per annum plus VAT. The total rent paid by MOD to NTS for the period 2003 to 2023 is £2.52 million. In addition, from 2008, the MOD has sub-leased space at St Kilda to the Northern Lighthouse Board at an annual rent payable to the MOD of £5,400. NTS are entitled to a share of this rent; the MOD pays NTS £1,485 plus VAT per annum under this agreement. The total amount paid to NTS from 2008 to 2023 is £28,512.

Defence: Buildings

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on surveys to identify buildings on his Department's land in Scotland which may have been constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

James Cartlidge: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation determined what buildings on Ministry of Defence land might potentially contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) material based on the period in which they were constructed and their construction type.Surveys are currently being conducted on all buildings which may have been constructed using RAAC.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Libya: Elections

Mr David Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the United Nations and (b) UN agencies on the resumption of elections in Libya.

David Rutley: The UK is fully committed to supporting the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily's efforts to drive forward a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process. The UK is using its position as United Nations Security Council (UNSC) penholder to work with the council and engages regularly with international partners in support of the SRSG's efforts. British Embassy Tripoli engages regularly with UNSMIL and Libyan interlocutors to encourage them to work constructively with the SRSG as he seeks to facilitate a political agreement that addresses the underlying issues preventing elections.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on diplomatic relations with the US.

David Rutley: The military base on Diego Garcia is an important national asset that we use with the Americans. The UK's priority is the security, safety and usability of the base. We are working in lockstep with the US on all elements of British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and will continue to do so.

Egypt: Elections

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the integrity of the democratic process for the 2023 presidential elections in Egypt.

David Rutley: Egypt held Presidential elections from 10-12 December 2023. The UK did not take part in formal election observation but encouraged free and fair elections. While a number of opposition candidates ran against President Abd El Fattah El-Sisi without issue, some claimed that they had faced obstacles to participating in the run up to the election. With 66.8 percent of the population voting, President Sisi secured 89.6 percent of the votes.

D-Day Landings: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he plans to take to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

David Rutley: Together with the MOD, the FCDO is committed to highlighting the UK's key role in D-Day, and our enduring role in defence and security on the European continent and beyond. The commemoration of D-Day 80 and associated national events to mark this anniversary are being led by the Ministry of Defence. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be supporting the co-ordination of any international elements to UK national commemorative events.

European Convention on Human Rights

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has received recent representations on the UK’s membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Leo Docherty: The UK has regular conversations about our position in international organisations.The UK has a longstanding tradition of ensuring rights and liberties are protected and abiding by the rule of law, both domestically and internationally. The Government remains committed to that position and will ensure that our laws continue to be fit for purpose and work for the people of the UK.

Unitaid: Finance

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with UNITAID on funding for that organisation.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has been a strong supporter and partner of Unitaid for over 17 years. We highly value Unitaid's work to drive access to life-saving new health technologies for those who need them most.The UK has a 20-year donor arrangement with Unitaid from 2007-2026 and has contributed £588 million to date. We continue to collaborate closely with Unitaid as a trusted partner. Allocations for 2025-26 and beyond will form part of the next Spending Review process, and the UK will work closely with multilateral partners through this process.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of third-party countries involvement on the duration of the conflict in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK condemns any actions that further fuel the brutal conflict in Sudan. The UK strongly supports an immediate end to the hostilities, both for the sake of Sudan's own people and to avoid the risk of further instability in the wider region. We continue to support the international community's efforts to reach a ceasefire and work towards a civilian political transition.

Gaza: Israel

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has sought (a) internal and (b) external legal advice on the case brought against Israel at the International Court for Justice by the Republic of South Africa.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We regularly review advice about Israel's capability and commitment to International Humanitarian Law. We act consistently with that advice, for example when considering export licenses.Regarding the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, we believe this development to be unhelpful and we do not support it. As previously stated, we recognise that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. We do not believe that calling this genocide is the right approach. It is wrong to say that Israeli leadership, and Israel as a country, have the intention to commit genocide. Ultimately, it is for courts to decide on matters of genocide, not for states. We of course respect the role and independence of the International Court of Justice.

Houthis: Iran

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate he has made of the number of missiles that have been provided to the Houthis by the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2014.

David Rutley: In 2022 and 2023 the Royal Navy interdicted Iranian missiles and components which were being smuggled from Iran to the Houthis in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. These weapons were similar to the weapons the Houthis have recently used to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea. Iran has been supplying the Houthis with intelligence and continues to supply them with weapons; on 17 January the Foreign Secretary made clear to the Iranian Foreign Minister that this must stop. A new Iran sanctions regime was launched in December which includes trade restrictions on UAVs and components.

Libya: Climate Change

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Libya's climate vulnerability on peace and stability in that country.

David Rutley: The devastating floods in eastern Libya in September 2023 underscore how climate vulnerability exacerbates the untenable political status quo in Libya. The UK believes an inclusive, representative political solution that delivers long-term stability and security is the key to ensuring effective governance. Libya has domestic funds available for its recovery. The challenge for reconstruction is the absence of financial transparency through a body which reflects the views of all Libyans across geographic and political divides. The UK is fully committed to supporting Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily's efforts to drive forward a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process.

Middle East: Conflict Prevention

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help prevent regional escalation in the Middle East.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK continues to seek the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East. We are employing the full range of our diplomatic and security efforts, working with allies and international partners to counter groups seeking to undermine the region's peace, stability and prosperity. Prior to our strike on Houthi targets, we had been engaging extensively with regional partners. We continue to do this. It is in all our interests to work together to de-escalate tensions in the region.The Foreign Secretary has discussed developments in the Red Sea with key interlocutors. He has spoken several times with the Iranian Foreign Minister, most recently on 17 January, making it clear that Iran bears responsibility for the actions of groups it has long supported, and that it has a role in actively restraining its aligned groups.Our aim has always been to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea. Military action was a last resort and was taken in self-defence, fully in line with international law and in response to a persistent threat.

Gulf States: Foreign Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, on how many occasions the Secretary of State has met their counterparts in the Gulf to discuss Yemen in each year since 2020.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK is committed to Yemen's long-term stability and has been working closely with international partners, including with Gulf States, to bring stability to Yemen. The Foreign Secretary has had many conversations about Yemen since 2020 with his Gulf counterparts. Most recently those conversations have included unacceptable Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and our continued support to the Yemen peace process.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report entitled Gaza: Fewer than 1 in 4 aid missions given green light, published on 16 January 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. The Prime Minister discussed the situation in Israel and Gaza with President Biden on 22 January; the UK and US share deep concerns about the terrible suffering and loss of civilian lives and are working together to establish a new aid route through the port of Ashdod.An immediate humanitarian pause is now necessary to get aid in and hostages out. Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to increase access. The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is based in the region and working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets her Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.

Julia Lopez: The Government set out how we would meet our commitments in the Net Zero Strategy in 2021 which included a detailed breakdown of actions required across all sectors in the economy. This was updated in 2023 through the publication of ‘Powering Up Britain’.The UK has halved its emissions, ahead of every other major economy, and we have grown our economy by over 70% since 1990. The UK over-achieved against the first and second carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that we are on track to meet the third.We have one of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the world, and we have set more stretching targets for 2030 than most countries. We plan to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the EU, Japan or the United States.

UK Games Fund

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of potential impact of the UK Games Fund on (a) employment, (b) investment, (c) studio formation and (d) IP development.

Julia Lopez: DCMS is currently evaluating the impact of the updated UK Games Fund, which is providing £13.4million over 2022-2025 to accelerate the growth of the UK games sector. In 2023, an independent evaluator, Alma Economics, was procured to produce a process, impact and economic evaluation of the fund between 2022-2025. This evaluation is due to be completed in Spring 2025 and will assess the impact of the fund across a range of metrics, including employment, investment, business formation and growth, and IP development.It will also review the longer-term impact of earlier funding administered from 2015 onwards. A previous evaluation of the UKGF in 2019 found that the UK Games Fund had an estimated return on investment of £5 for every £1 spent.

British Empire: Exhibitions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government has plans to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.

Stuart Andrew: DCMS has no plans to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.

Football: Sportsgrounds

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many responses her Department received to its letter of June 2023 to football league and competition organisers on guidance relating to the safety of barriers and fences in stadiums.

Stuart Andrew: Following serious incidents involving football players colliding with objects and barriers around the perimeter of the playing area, the Government and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) wrote jointly to The Football Association (FA), Premier League, the English Football League (EFL) and the National League setting out our concerns. Of these, The FA, Premier League, and the EFL have responded.

Sports: Girls

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase participation of young girls in competitive sports (a) at and (b) outside school.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to supporting women and girls’ sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation across all sports, at every level. In our new Sport Strategy ‘Get Active’, we set an ambitious target of getting 1 million more active children and 1.25 million more active women by 2030.We are determined to maximise the potential of women’s sport in the future so we can sustain that pipeline of talent and expand it. We are investing over £600 million in school sport across the next two academic years todrive up the quality of physical education and ensure girls have equal access to opportunities to play sport.The School Games programme offers children the opportunity to take part in competitions in over 40 sports at local and regional level, including inclusive, modified versions of the sports. In the 2022/23 academic year, the country-wide network of 450 School Games Organisers provided over 2.2 million opportunities for children to take part. The introduction of new equality criteria to the School Games Mark encourages and recognises schools providing equal access to girls and boys.Outside of school, we are investing over £300 million in grassroots football and multi-sport facilities across the UK by 2025 which will further support women and girls accessing sport. The new £30 million Lioness Futures fund will deliver approximately 30 new state of the art 3G pitches at sites supporting women’s and girls’ teams across England. Projects in England will need to have a clear women and girls plan to receive this funding and will be monitored regularly to ensure the objectives are met.

Future of Women's Football Review

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2024 to Question 10161 on Future of Women's Football Review, whether she plans to chair all further meetings of the implementation group.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2024 to Question 10161 on Future of Women's Football Review, if she will list who has (a) been invited and (b) accepted invitations to join the implementation group.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2024 to Question 10161 on Future of Women's Football Review, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) transparency and (b) accountability arrangements for the implementation group in the context of its reporting to (i) Ministers, (ii) Parliament and (iii) the Culture Media and Sports Select Committee.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2024 to Question 10161 on Future of Women's Football Review, if she will list all future meeting dates of the implementation group.

Stuart Andrew: The Secretary of State will chair the first meeting of the implementation group in March and future meetings will be chaired by either the Secretary of State or Minister for Sport.The implementation group will include key decision-makers from the organisations with responsibility for taking forward the Review recommendations. These organisations are the FA, NewCo, Football Foundation, Sport England, the Sports Ground Safety Authority, the EFL, the Department for Education and the Premier League. The Secretary of State will be writing to senior representatives to formally invite them to the first meeting in March.As set out in the Review, these representatives will be required to provide updates at the implementation group. DCMS will convene the group and will provide a secretariat function to make sure stakeholders are progressing with the recommendations, and we will monitor this accordingly.We remain committed to hosting the initial implementation group meetings in March and July 2024. We will work collaboratively with stakeholders to assess the frequency of the future implementation group meetings.We will continue to keep Ministers, Parliament and the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee updated on progress.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Drugs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason there are medication shortages in the NHS; and if she will have discussions with the pharmaceutical industry on improving the supply.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor the availability and (b) notify relevant stakeholders of shortages of supply of medications.

Andrew Stephenson: There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply. However, the medicine supply chain is highly regulated, complex, and global and supply disruption is a common issue which affects countries all around the world.There are several reasons why supply can be disrupted, including manufacturing difficulties, regulatory non-compliance, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues. Supply issues are driven by a range of factors, many of which are non-specific to the United Kingdom.Whilst we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and help mitigate risks to patients. We work closely with industry, the National Health Service, and others to develop bespoke mitigation plans, which are tailored to each issue, to help ensure patients continue to have access to the medicines they need.In some cases, an alternative supplier will be able to plug the gap with the exact same medicine. In others, patients will need to return to their clinician for review and consideration of the best treatment plan for them, for example switching to a different medicine. The team routinely shares up to date information about supply issues, for healthcare professionals, via an online Medicine Supply Tool, which is hosted by the Specialist Pharmacy Service.

Measles: Vaccination

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help encourage vaccine uptake for measles in (a) London and (b) England.

Maria Caulfield: The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is offered as a part of the childhood immunisation schedule, and there are several campaigns underway to increase uptake nationally. These include a targeted National Health Service campaign, launched in July 2023, to contact parents and carers of children aged between one and five years old, who were not fully vaccinated. We are also launching a follow up campaign targeting unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children aged between six and 11 years old. In London this includes all those unvaccinated and partially vaccinated aged between 11 and 25 years old. Additionally, NHS England is working closely with the UK Health Security Agency and local health partners and communities to understand the needs of their populations and to tailor immunisation programmes to meet the needs of under-vaccinated communities. Efforts include offering alternative vaccination sites, local and national media coverage to raise awareness, and community outreach work to support increased uptake. The MMR and polio catch-up campaign which was launched in London in May 2023 has resulted in 25,000 MMR vaccines being administered. NHS London has also offered MMR vaccines in nurseries and schools to make it easier for parents to vaccinate their children, and has worked with community and faith leaders to engage these communities and highlight the importance for anyone eligible to take up the vaccination offer.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve the uptake of the HPV vaccine in schools.

Maria Caulfield: School Aged Immunisation Service providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination based on population need, utilising opportunities from the HPV programme change in September 2023.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with several charities to develop sources that can be used to raise awareness of HPV. UKHSA also publish annual statistics to support local National Health Service teams in developing plans to improve uptake and reduce inequalities.NHS England have improved digital communications on vaccinations, including expanding the NHS app, and have improved access to the vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.

Health Professions: Standards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take legislative steps to align (a) standards and (b) fitness to practice processes across all healthcare profession regulators.

Andrew Stephenson: Between 24 March and 16 June 2021, the Government consulted on proposals to reform the regulation of healthcare professionals, and on the introduction of anaesthesia associates (AAs) and physician associates (PAs) into statutory regulation by the General Medical Council (GMC). The consultation was entitled Regulating healthcare professionals, protecting the public, and proposed that all regulators should have broadly consistent powers in relation to standard setting and fitness to practise.The Government’s response to the consultation was published in February 2023 and detailed our proposed reforms to the regulators’ standard setting powers. It also set out a new fitness to practise process for all regulators. A modernised regulatory framework is being introduced firstly for AAs and PAs. The Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024, laid on 13 December 2023, allows for the statutory regulation of AAs and PAs by the GMC under the new framework. The reformed regulatory framework will be rolled out to all regulated healthcare professionals, beginning with doctors, and the professions regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council, over the next couple of years.

Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the paper in Epidemiology and Infection 2023; 151: e160, entitled Haemolytic uraemic syndrome in children England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland: A prospective cohort study, published on 1 September 2023, if she will take steps to publish more accurate data on the number of cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome identified by the UK Health Security Agency; and if her Department will take steps to increase funding for research into (a) cures and (b) treatments to improve long-term health outcomes for this illness.

Maria Caulfield: Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS) is a notifiable disease and cases are reported on a weekly basis by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The most common type of Shiga toxin-producing E.coli associated with HUS is also a notifiable pathogen, and the number of laboratory reported cases is published on a weekly basis by UKHSA. This data covers England and Wales, and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notifiable-diseases-causative-agents-reports-for-2024/noids-causative-agents-week-2-week-ending-14-january-2024The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As the largest public funder for health and care research, the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cures and treatments for HUS.

Radiology: Staff

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase the number of radiologists in cancer centres.

Andrew Stephenson: As of October 2023, there are currently over 5,600 full time equivalent doctors working in the speciality of clinical radiology, within National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 300 or 5.7% more than in 2023, over 1,000 or 22% more than in 2019, and over 2,200 or 66.8% more than in 2010. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) published by NHS England on 30 June 2023 sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year by 2028/29. The LTWP has committed to an adequate growth in foundation placement capacity, as those taking up these new places begin to graduate, and to a commensurate increase in specialty training places that meets the demands of the NHS in the future. This will substantially increase the potential pipeline for the radiologist workforce.

Scoliosis: Schools

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing the Adams Bend test in schools.

Andrew Stephenson: In 2015, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) considered the Adams Bend test and concluded it has a high false positive rate and a low positive predictive value for identifying cases that are likely to progress and require treatment, therefore the use of this screening test would lead to unnecessary and potentially harmful exposure to X-rays. The UK NSC reconsidered the evidence in 2021 and does not currently recommend the introduction of a screening programme for scoliosis using the Adams Bend test.

Prostate Cancer: Medical Treatments and Screening

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timescale for publishing (a) the UK National Screening Committee's review of evidence for screening and (b) updated guidance on treatment pathways for prostate cancer is.

Andrew Stephenson: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) will consider the evidence for six possible approaches to targeted prostate screening when the review, commissioned by the Department, has been completed. The UK NSC will publish its recommendations.Guidance on testing and treatment of prostate cancer was updated in October 2022. There are no current plans to update the guidance again.

Health Services: Weather

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department have taken to support the NHS to mitigate the impact of (a) flooding and (b) storms on the provision of healthcare.

Maria Caulfield: The National Health Service has well established measures in place to prepare for, and respond to, flooding and storms. The Department for Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Met Office and the Environment Agency to monitor risks from storms and flooding. This information is shared with NHS England to support their planning and response activity.Prior to flooding or storm events, notice is given through Environment Agency and Met Office warning systems. The Department for Health and Social Care coordinates with NHS England, the Environment Agency, and other cross-Government partners to monitor impacts and coordinate the response.

Diabetes: Health Services

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that diabetes patients in (a) Scunthorpe and (b) England receive the eight healthchecks recommendedbyDiabetesUK.

Andrew Stephenson: Recovery of routine diabetes care following the pandemic is a key priority for the NHS England Diabetes Programme. Transformation funding between 2020/21 and 2022/23 has supported recovery, as such that rates of routine care delivery are now almost back to the pre-pandemic level. Services in the National Health Service are asked to continue this upward trajectory, with a particular focus on ensuring that people from socio-economically deprived areas receive their annual reviews. Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is responsible for commissioning diabetes clinical services for the Scunthorpe area and has an established Diabetes Clinical Network. This network operates across the entirety of the Humber and North Yorkshire geographical area. The latest National Diabetes Audit 2023-24 Quarterly Report, January 2023 to September 2023 was published on 11 January 2024. The proportion of patients with type 1 diabetes completing all eight care processes at Humber and North Yorkshire ICB is 27.0%, above the England average of 25.3%. The proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes completing all eight care processes at Humber and North Yorkshire ICB is 37% above the England average of 30.5%.

Maternity Services: Safety

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor the progress of and (b) evaluate maternity and neonatal safety improvement schemes.

Maria Caulfield: Improving safety and outcomes for women and babies is central to NHS England’s Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, which is built on recommendations from recent maternity safety inquiries and specifically addresses the key themes raised in them.The Plan includes determining success measures that will be used to monitor outcomes and progress in achieving key objectives on the plan. To facilitate monitoring against the key objectives, NHS England published technical guidance which includes information to provide clarity on the data sources and indicator construction for these measures.

Diabetes: Drugs

Peter Gibson: To ask Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of people with type 2 diabetes impacted by the GLP-1 shortage.

Andrew Stephenson: Information on the number of people impacted by the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) shortage is not held by the Department. There continues to be a global supply issue with some GLP-1 receptor agonists, but following the Department’s ongoing engagement with manufacturers, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and others operating in the supply chain, the overall supply position has improved, with additional stock being secured to boost availability of these medicines for patients.We issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals, in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert, on 3 January 2024. This provides advice on how to manage patients requiring these medicines. Our guidance remains clear that GLP-1 receptor agonists that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose and should not be prescribed for weight loss.

Liver Diseases: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support the detection of liver disease in Darlington constituency.

Andrew Stephenson: The Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) is supporting services to enable the early detection of liver disease across North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB). More than 80% of patients with liver cirrhosis, a type of liver disease, have been invited to monthly ultrasound surveillance. For 2024/25, the NCA has invested over £200k into trusts across the ICB to help improve their monitoring systems for cirrhosis patients. This investment has also included £30,000 for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust who will be using their funds to improve systems in relation to call and recall of patients to their six-monthly checks.The ICB is also enrolled in a Community Liver Health Check pilot in Newcastle, being delivered by the systems Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks. This will provide FibroScans in one stop community clinics where patients have relevant blood testing, liver ultrasound and other investigations as required. The pilot has expanded into North Tyneside and when resources allow, they intend to develop clinics elsewhere including Gateshead and Sunderland.

Blood: Contamination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General during topical questions to the Cabinet Office on 18 January 2024, Official Report, column 1016, whether he will publish details of the psychological support in place for victims of infected blood.

Maria Caulfield: The current England Infected Blood Support Scheme, which makes payments to infected blood victims in England, also provides a grant of up to £900 a year for beneficiaries and family members for counselling and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-approved talking therapies. This offer was expanded in August 2022 to enable beneficiaries to access funding for ongoing and longer-term treatment. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/talking-therapy-supportA bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed, and planned to go live in early summer 2024.

Measles: Greater London

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of measles cases in (a) London, (b) Wandsworth borough and (c) Putney constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency publishes routine data on laboratory confirmed measles cases by age and region monthly, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-epidemiology-2023/confirmed-cases-of-measles-in-england-by-month-age-and-region-2023This routine report does not include a breakdown of cases by local authority, due to the small numbers and the risk of deductive disclosure. Data can be enhanced retrospectively and analysed over longer periods to describe inequalities in the burden of disease. This was most recently published in 2019, and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-and-rubella-elimination-uk-strategy

Community Diagnostic Centres: Strangford

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on the installation of community diagnostic centres in Strangford constituency.

Andrew Stephenson: No recent discussions have been held with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on the installation of community diagnostic centres in the Strangford constituency, or other constituencies in Northern Ireland. Diagnostic services in Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administration.

Cancer: Screening

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 30 June 2023 to Question 190710 on Cancer: Screening, if she will publish (a) the NHS breast cancer screening uptake improvement plan and (b) an update on the (i) pilot and (ii) testing conducted.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England has developed an internal national plan in collaboration with key stakeholders, to improve uptake within the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond. There is currently no intention to publish the plan, but it is available on the NHS Futures Platform. This is a collaboration platform that empowers everyone working in health and social care to safely connect, share, and learn across boundaries. NHS England has commissioned a series of evaluative projects as part of its internal national improvement plan for breast screening, which includes: actively following up with women who have missed an appointment or not engaged with the service; looking at the reasons why women do not attend screenings to address any barriers; and assessing the impact on screening uptake of using different invitation methodologies with reference to factors such as age, previous screening history, attendance at first invitation and subsequent invites, and deprivation. These projects are expected to report their findings by April 2024.

Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco: Regulation

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on drafting the Tobacco and Vapes Bill; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the Bill takes into account the responses to the consultation on Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom yearly, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, including £14 billion of lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently being finalised and will be introduced in this parliamentary session. The Bill will create the first smokefree generation, crack down on youth vaping, and will enable the Government to enforce the new rules. The Bill will be informed by the recent consultation ‘Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping’ the response of which will be published shortly.

Prostate Cancer

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of prostate cancer deaths.

Andrew Stephenson: Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to improving survival rates for cancer, including prostate cancer, and thereby reducing the number of cancer deaths. The Department is taking steps to reduce cancer diagnosis and treatment waiting times and is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care. This includes plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment.    To support early diagnosis, NHS England introduced the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) which sets a maximum target of 28 days from urgent suspected general practice or screening referral to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out. To achieve this target, NHS England have streamlined cancer pathways, including implementing a best-timed prostate cancer diagnostic pathway so that those suspected of prostate cancer receive a multi-parametric, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan first, which ensures only those men most at-risk undergo an invasive biopsy. Best practice timed pathways support the on-going improvement effort to shorten diagnosis pathways, reduce variation, improve experience of care, and meet the FDS. For patients, the prostate best-practice timed pathway may reduce anxiety and uncertainty of a possible cancer diagnosis, with reduced time between referral and receiving the outcome of diagnostic test In November 2023 we announced a £42 million screening trial with Prostate Cancer UK, to find ways of detecting the country’s most common male cancer earlier. The first-of-its-kind trial, called TRANSFORM, will use innovative screening methods like MRI scans to detect prostate cancer, and will see hundreds of thousands of men across the country participating On 24 January 2023, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy to consider the six conditions, including cancer, that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England. We published the Major Conditions Strategy: Case for Change and Our Strategic Framework on 14 August 2023, which sets out our approach to making the change over the next five years that will deliver the most value in facing the health challenges of today, and of the decades ahead.

Department of Health and Social Care: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what targets her Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government set out how we would meet our commitments for the Net Zero Strategy in 2021, which included a detailed breakdown of actions required across all sectors in the economy. This was updated in 2023 through the publication of Powering Up Britain.The United Kingdom has halved its emissions, ahead of every other major economy, while having also grown our economy by over 70% since 1990. The UK over-achieved against the first and second carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that we are on track to meet the third.We have one of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the world, and we have set more stretching targets for 2030 than most countries. We plan to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the European Union, Japan or the United States.

Pharmacy: Closures

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many community pharmacies have closed in each of the last 5 years.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the closure of community pharmacies.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of closures of community pharmacies in the current Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework period.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS Business Services Authority publishes official statistics which includes the number of pharmacies opening and closing in each financial year. The following table shows how many pharmacies opened or closed within the last five years: Financial YearPharmacies openedPharmacies closed2018/20192203472019/20202394052020/20212364512021/20223084182022/2023297388 Community pharmacies are private businesses that receive funding to provide pharmaceutical services for the National Health Service. The decision to close, divest or consolidate is a commercial decision made by the business owner. The Department is monitoring changes to the market closely. Access remains good, with 80% of people in England living within a 20 minutes’ walk from a local pharmacy, and with twice as many pharmacies in deprived areas.

Infant Foods: Inflation

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of inflation on the cost of formula milk.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the baby formula market.

Andrea Leadsom: The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) published a report in November 2023 named ‘Price inflation and competition in food and grocery manufacturing and supply’, which included an assessment on infant formula. It found that between March 2021 and April 2023, the price of infant formula had grown beyond the increased input costs to manufacturers. The report is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/price-inflation-and-competition-in-food-and-grocery-manufacturing-and-supplyThe CMA has committed to publishing a further report examining infant formula in more detail later this year, and Departmental officials continue to engage with the CMA.

Dental Services

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people registered for the first time with an NHS dentist in 2023.

Andrea Leadsom: Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly.In the 24 months to June 2023, 235,881 adults saw an NHS dentist in Lincolnshire integrated care board (ICB), equal to 38% of the adult population in the ICB. In the 24 months up to June 2022, 223,114 adults had seen an NHS dentist in the ICB, equal to 36% of the adult population.NHS dentists are now required to update their NHS website profiles regularly, to ensure patients have access to up-to-date information on where they can access care.

Mortality Rates

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of reasons for the the rise in excess deaths since 2020.

Andrea Leadsom: Estimates from both the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the number of death registrations in England in 2023 was 6% higher than expected. It is likely that a combination of factors has contributed, including high flu prevalence, the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.More estimates from both OHID and ONS show that there has not been a rise in excess deaths since 2020 estimated numbers of excess deaths have reduced each year from 2020. The following table shows these estimates from 21 March 2020 to 1 December 2023:  Pandemic to date2020202120222023 to dateNumber of excess deaths estimated by OHID170,80470,71943,10830,59626,381% higher than expected9%19%9%6%6%Number of excess deaths by ONS187,99876,16952,50632,94626,377% higher than expected10%21%11%6%6%Source: OHID and ONS Notes:Pandemic to date: data from 21 March 2020 to 1 December 20232020: data from 21 March 2020 to 1 January 20212021: data from 2 January 2021 to 31 December 20212022: data from 1 January 2022 to 30 December 20222023: data from 31 December 2022 to 1 December 2023

Smoking: Young People

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the consultation entitled Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping.

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to publish a response to the consultation on Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom a year, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, of which £14 billion is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.We plan to publish the Government response to the consultation shortly, ahead of the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether fluoride is added to the water supply anywhere in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in varying amounts in soil, food, and drink, including drinking water supplies. Currently approximately six million people in England live in areas with a water fluoridation scheme where the fluoride concentration has been adjusted, in line with legal limits, to help reduce tooth decay. Further details on the areas involved are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-care-bill-factsheets/health-and-care-bill-water-fluoridation.

Dental Services

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many units of dental activity were (a) commissioned and (b) delivered in each integrated care board in each month since January 2017.

Andrea Leadsom: Information on units of dental activity prior to April 2023 is not held centrally. The attached table shows this information from April 2023 to October 2023, the most recent period for which data is available.PQ11430 - UDAs commissioned and contracted (xlsx, 25.3KB)

Tobacco

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December to Question 4083 on Tobacco, whether he plans to publish the Office for Budget Responsibility’s assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill before its presentation.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom a year and one in four of all cancer deaths in the UK. It costs our country £17 billion a year, of which £14 billion is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.We are not aware of any plans by the Office for Budget Responsibility to publish an assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. However, we do plan to publish an impact assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in due course.

Prescription Drugs: Pharmacy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing pharmacists to prescribe alternative medications if those prescribed by a GP are not available without referring back to the GP.

Andrea Leadsom: Our assessment is that allowing pharmacists to take local action to alter prescriptions and supply an alternative without the full oversight of supply issues that the Department has, could have the effect of creating a knock-on shortage of the alternative and could thereby have the potential to exacerbate rather than mitigate supply problems. Furthermore, pharmacies will not know the reasons why a medicine has been prescribed, and in what particular way.However, Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) enable community pharmacists to supply a specified medicine or device in accordance with a protocol rather than a prescription, with the patient’s consent, and without needing to seek authorisation from the prescriber. SSPs are an additional tool that have been used in recent years to manage and mitigate medicine and medical devices shortages. SSPs are not introduced unless sufficient supplies of the alternative product to be supplied in accordance with the SSP are available to support the market.

Public Health: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS public health functions agreement 2023 to 2024 will include a ring-fence in financial directions.

Andrea Leadsom: My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s financial directions to NHS England in respect of the financial year ending on 31 March 2024, do not include a ring-fence for services covered by the annual NHS public health functions agreement. The Government does not intend to set such a ring-fence for the remainder of this period.

Pharmacy: Medical Records

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to increase pharmacy access to medical notes in the context of the provision of Pharmacy First services.

Andrea Leadsom: Improving access to the patient record held on general practice (GP) systems is part of the significant improvements to the interoperability of the digital infrastructure between GP and community pharmacy that we committed to fund in the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care. We will also streamline referrals and enable community pharmacies to share structured updates quickly and efficiently following a pharmacy consultation back into the GP patient record.These IT improvements which will be introduced this year and will improve existing and future services; for example, by allowing GP patient records to be updated following supply of oral contraception or a blood pressure consultation in community pharmacy.

Pharmacy: Closures

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of local pharmacy closures on those pharmacies which remain open.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many community pharmacies have closed in the last year for which data is available.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department closely monitors changes to the pharmacy network to ensure access to the services the National Health Service provides. Access remains good with 80% of people in England living within 20 minutes walking from a pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas of the country.Every three years local authorities in England undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs.When a local pharmacy closes, the neighbouring pharmacies usually see some increase in demand and income. Each contractor's increase is difficult to predict as patients can choose which alternative pharmacy they want to use and can use different pharmacies for different purposes. Patients can also choose to access many NHS pharmaceutical services remotely through any of the approximately 400 distance selling pharmacies (DSPs).Statistics published by the NHS Business Services Authority show that there were 11,045 pharmacies on 1 January 2023 and 10,673 on 31 December 2023.

Pharmacy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to support pharmacies seeking to provide Pharmacy First.

Andrea Leadsom: Pharmacy First is due to launch on 31 January 2024. As set out in the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, up to £645 million is available this and next financial year to fund Pharmacy First and an expansion of the existing blood pressure and contraception services.A set-up fee will be paid to pharmacies that have signed up to recognise that pharmacy contractors must ensure that pharmacists and pharmacy staff providing the service are competent to do so, which may involve training. Pharmacies will need to familiarise themselves with the service specification, patient group directions, and patient pathways which have been published. Community Pharmacy England has developed a checklist for both pharmacy owners and pharmacists, including locums, to help them get ready for the service. Contractors are supported by additional resources provided by the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education, to ensure participating pharmacists are clinically competent to deliver these services safely.

Abiraterone: Prostate Cancer

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS bodies have a role in the consideration of Abiraterone for inclusion in the drug repurposing programme for the treatment of locally advanced high-risk non-metastatic prostate cancer; and what the remit of each body is in that process.

Andrew Stephenson: The national, multi-agency Medicines Repurposing Programme is hosted and funded by NHS England and is overseen by a steering group, including decision-making members from the Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and NHS England. Each of the national agencies brings a different contribution to the programme, in line with their respective regulatory and statutory responsibilities.The programme steering group has not discussed adopting abiraterone for high-risk, non-metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer into the repurposing programme. This is because an off-label clinical commissioning policy covering the off-label use of abiraterone in this indication is being developed by NHS England and, in this case, NHS England considers this to be the most appropriate route to support a decision on routine patient access in the National Health Service. The policy is being considered through the established process in line with the current methods, which are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Methods-National-clinical-policies-updated-July-2020-v2.pdf

Heart Diseases: Young People

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the risk of cardiac arrest among young people.

Andrew Stephenson: The NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme tests for 11 specific physical conditions including congenital heart disease. All parents are also offered a physical examination of their baby within 72 hours of giving birth, which includes checking the baby for heart murmurs.To improve survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases, on 29 December 2022 the Government announced a new £1 million one-off fund that will expand defibrillator access in the community. The Government is acting on the drivers of cardiovascular diseases, including smoking. We have set out plans to create the first smokefree generation and announced significant new funding to support current smokers.

Dental Services: Cancer

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential relationship between the availability of NHS dentistry appointments and patient access to bone-strengthening medication to treat cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: Whilst the Department has not made a formal assessment, some integrated care boards (ICBs) may be looking at this, using the flexible commissioning model opportunity to meet the needs of their populations. Cancer services remain a priority for ICBs.The Government has implemented a package of reforms to improve access to National Health Service dental care, which has had an effect with more patients being seen and a 23% increase in NHS activity in the past year. We know we need to do more, and the Department’s Dentistry Recovery Plan will be published shortly, setting out a big package of change.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Social Housing: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on how many cases of social housing tenancy fraud there were in the London Borough of Havering in (a) 2022, (b) 2021, (c) 2020 and (d) 2019.

Jacob Young: The Department does not collect this data.

Local Plans: St Albans

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8848 on Local Plans: St Albans, whether his Department has been notified of (a) correspondence and (b) meetings on the local plan between St Albans District Council and the Planning Inspectorate in the last 12 months.

Lee Rowley: An advisory meeting between the Planning Inspectorate and St Albans City and District Council was held on 18 December 2023.The Planning Inspectorate will hold an advisory meeting at the request of a local authority. The purpose of an advisory meeting is to provide advice on points raised by the authority in regard to their draft local plan and the examination process so that the authority can effectively prepare for it.

Park Homes: Sales

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to respond to the report commissioned by his Department entitled The impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission, published in June 2022.

Jacob Young: Announcements will be set out in the usual way.

Social Rented Housing: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to address the shortage of social housing in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, and (c) the North West.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will commit to providing more funding to local authorities to increase the availability of social-rented housing in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, and (c) the North West.

Jacob Young: It is for local authorities to identify the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and reflect this in planning and other policies. This Government continues to be fully committed to increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country, including social rent. Local authorities themselves can deliver new affordable housing. We have given them greater flexibilities in their Housing Revenue Account as to how they spend their Right to Buy receipts and implemented a preferential borrowing rate for council housebuilding from the Public Works Loan Board, which has now been extended to June 2025. Local authorities can also use Section 106 planning obligations to secure affordable housing and infrastructure required to mitigate the impacts of new development and support sustainable growth. The new Infrastructure Levy will aim to secure at least as much if not more, affordable housing than the current system of developer contributions. This will be secured through regulations and policy, supported by provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Ministers' Private Offices

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether any refurbishments have been made to ministerial offices in his Department in each of the last two years.

Simon Hoare: No significant refurbishments have been made to ministerial offices in London or Wolverhampton during the last two years, but in line with the practice of successive administrations details of departmental expenditure are set out regularly.

Undocumented Migrants: Council Housing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of illegal migrants living in council housing.

Jacob Young: Illegal migrants are not eligible for an allocation of social housing and cannot be granted a social housing tenancy, therefore the department does not collect such data.

Planning Permission

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9443 on Local Plans: Green Belt, what steps he is taking to ensure that planning inspectors apply the provisions of the new National Planning Policy Framework in their decisions.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reasons can a planning inspector overrule a local council's housing plan.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2023 to Question 9443 on Local Plans: Green Belt, whether he has powers to intervene should a planning inspector require a local authority to build housing on a designated green belt site.

Lee Rowley: The Secretary of State appoints an independent Planning Inspector to examine a revised Local Plan (including any Green Belt boundary change) and check that it is legally compliant and sound. Plans must be positively prepared, justified, effective, and consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework. If requested by the local authority, Inspectors may recommend modifications to the Plan they consider necessary for it to be sound. The Framework is not law, simply requiring compliance: examining Inspectors have regard to its policies insofar as they are a material consideration.As Annex 1 makes clear, the revised Framework will come into effect where a revised Plan reaches pre-submission stage after 19 March 2024. However, for the purposes of determining planning applications, the new Framework’s policies came into effect on 19 December 2023.The Secretary of State has a range of intervention powers available to him in relation to the Plan-making process. Decisions to intervene are exceptional and made on a case-by-case basis once all the facts and any relevant legal advice have been considered.

Affordable Housing: First Time Buyers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to review the (a) incentives available to and (b) constraints on the affordability of homes for first-time buyers.

Lee Rowley: We have introduced a number of interventions that aim to increase the opportunities available to those wishing and able to get on the property ladder for the first time. These include First Homes, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, Shared Ownership and Right to Buy. We have also reduced stamp duty and raised the thresholds for First-Time Buyers’ Relief. We also run the Lifetime ISA scheme to help young first-time buyers save for their first home.

Private Rented Housing: Deposits

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will introduce a low interest deposit scheme for people seeking entry-level rental accommodation in the private sector.

Jacob Young: The Government does not have plans to introduce a low interest deposit scheme for the private rented sector. Local authorities may offer deposit guarantee or bond schemes to people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness.Councils can choose to use Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) or Homelessness Prevention Grant funding to provide rent deposits for people in financial difficulties.Since 2011 the government has provided almost £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities and is investing over £1 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years (2023-2025) including a £109 million top up for 2023/2024.

Property Development: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on whether Historic England has responded to the proposal to develop the Riverside centre in Shrewsbury.

Jacob Young: As the project sponsor, Shropshire Council are responsible for stakeholder relationships related to the delivery of the Riverside Centre project including those with Historic England.The Department does not hold this information.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Nuclear Power

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to classify nuclear power as sustainable.

Amanda Solloway: The Government has stated its intention that, subject to consultation, we will include nuclear in the UK Green Taxonomy. This will incentivise private investment in this important technology alongside renewables and other sectors that are key to reaching our Net Zero goal. The Government expects to publish the consultation on the UK Green Taxonomy shortly.

Energy Company Obligation

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate she had made of the number of energy efficiency measures that will be delivered through the ECO4 scheme by March 2026.

Amanda Solloway: In the published Impact Assessment for the scheme, the Government estimated that around 800,000 measures would be installed under ECO4 by March 2026. Since it began in April 2022, ECO4 has delivered 319,800 measures by end November 2023, with around 32,700 measures being installed in November. Statistics are available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-headline-release-january-2024.

Wind Power

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many applications for new onshore wind farms have been submitted in the last year.

Graham Stuart: According to the Renewable Energy Planning Database, the last year of available published information for the period between November 2022 to October 2023 recorded 90 applications for new onshore wind projects submitted across the United Kingdom.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management: Green Deal Scheme

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of green deal mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Limited.

Amanda Solloway: In Green Deal mis-selling cases, my Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has power to reduce or cancel loans where there has been a breach of the relevant rules, and she is satisfied the consumer has suffered, or is likely to suffer, substantive loss. The financial impact of sanctions falls to the loan provider. Public expenditure relating to mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Limited is limited to legal costs plus initial case reviews by the Financial Ombudsman Service, estimated at approximately £324,000. There are also staff and administration costs, but it is not possible to provide an estimate of these without incurring disproportionate cost.

Wind Power: Finance

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending incentives for communities to host onshore wind projects to (a) nuclear and (b) other low-carbon generation projects.

Andrew Bowie: The Government wants all communities to benefit from hosting energy technologies in their local areas. However, Government does not have a formal role with regards to community benefits for low-carbon energy projects. These are best agreed at a local level between the operators and the local community. Many low-carbon energy developers already offer a range of community benefit schemes, including providing funding for environmental enhancements, job schemes, energy discounts, and investment in local infrastructure. The Government will seek alignment and consistency between energy technologies where appropriate, but believes it is important that the approach to community benefits for each technology reflects their unique impacts.

Heat Pumps: Energy

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to introduce a discount for domestic electricity use where that electricity is used to power a heat pump.

Amanda Solloway: We know that green, lower-carbon products are more efficient and therefore should be cheaper to run. However, current prices mean this not always the case. We want to make it easier for consumers to make the switch to green products by ‘rebalancing’ prices between electricity and gas to remove these distortions. In ‘Powering Up Britain’, the government committed to outlining a clear approach to gas and electricity price rebalancing by the end of 2023/24 and making significant progress affecting relative prices by the end of 2024.

Heating: Rural Areas

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of support provided to decarbonise heat in rural communities; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential policy options available to help increase off-grid rollout of heat pumps.

Amanda Solloway: The Department currently provides support for heat pump deployment through a range of schemes including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2). The BUS up to November 2023, has recorded 57% of grants for heat pumps being redeemed for rural properties.

Offshore Industry: Licensing

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the time taken by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning to deliver permits for energy production projects.

Graham Stuart: The UK has a comprehensive legal framework for development proposals for offshore oil and gas fields under existing licences. All activities that may impact the environment are subject to rigorous assessment as part of the environmental application process. Regulatory decisions by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning are made within the timeline set out in the relevant regulations. For new developments, the time taken to reach a decision depends on the complexity and nature of the project. The time taken to reach those decisions are regularly monitored and reviewed as necessary.

Electricity Interconnectors

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Ofgem on the criteria for the third cap and floor window for electricity interconnectors.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem is responsible for administering the cap and floor windows for electricity interconnectors, including setting and applying the criteria for the process. The Department meets regularly with Ofgem to discuss electricity interconnection.

Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of impact of the provisions in the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill on the environment.

Graham Stuart: The UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions and has more ambitious 2030 targets than any other major economy. Section 12 of the Impact Assessment published alongside the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill sets out how the environmental principles of the Environment Act have been taken into consideration in the development of this Bill. Backing domestic oil and gas industry through the Bill will reduce imports with higher emissions and support delivery of the UK’s net zero targets as the UK needs to retain the skills, expertise, investment and supply chains of the oil and gas sector to support the transition to low carbon and renewable technologies.

Regional Electricity Companies: Weather

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the ability of the electrical power companies to respond to recent storm events.

Andrew Bowie: The Government annually reviews the electricity industry’s preparedness for a range of scenarios including severe weather events ahead of each winter. This is in addition to specific reviews after major disruptive events, the latest being the Storm Arwen Review in 2022.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Attorney General, what targets her Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.

Robert Courts: As part of the greening government commitments framework, set for the period between April 2021 to March 2025, the Attorney General’s Office’s overall and direct emissions reduction targets are 49% and 25%, respectively.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Marine Protected Areas

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Action Alliance has made; and what representations the UK has made at the Alliance since the Our Ocean conference in Panama in March 2023.

Mark Spencer: The UK Government is a founder member of the IUU Action Alliance, and as its current chair and secretariat the UK works closely with its partners globally to ensure the Alliance’s long-term success. The Alliance now contains 11 members with 9 supporters, with an ambitious work programme agreed by its members.

Sharks: Fishing Catches

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of each shark species have been landed in (a) UK ports and (b) abroad by UK vessels in each of the last five years.

Mark Spencer: Our sea fisheries annual statistics includes live weights of annual landings of shark species into UK ports, and by UK vessels into non-UK ports. This data is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-sea-fisheries-annual-statistics. Landings from the last five years for which data is available are provided in the attached tables.Vessel landings in live weight by species 2018-22 (xls, 9566.0KB)

Sharks: Fishing Catches and Ports

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total allowable catch level in English ports was for each shark species in each of the last five years.

Mark Spencer: Two shark species are relevant here. The UK agrees an annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for British fishing boats for Spurdog, having reopened the fishery in 2023 following ICES advice. In 2023, the UK and EU agreed a total TAC of 15,453 t, with a UK quota of 2,781 t in the North Sea TAC management area and 4,825 t in the Western TAC management area. For 2024, the UK and EU agreed a total TAC of 15,900 t, with a UK quota of 2,862 t in the North Sea TAC management area and 5,809 t in the Western TAC management area. The Total Allowable Catch level for Blue Shark is set by The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), and that TAC is allocated as quotas to the parties. 2021 was the first year that the UK had access to a quota for this species, which we use exclusively for bycatch. The UK’s quota was 9 tonnes in 2021, 32 tonnes in 2022 and 2023, and is 25 tonnes for 2024.

Members: Correspondence

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of (a) 1 December 2023 and (b) 8 January 2024 from the hon. Member for Lewisham East, case reference JD39615.

Mark Spencer: A reply to the hon. Member is being prepared and will be issued in due course. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.

Farmers: Mental Health Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to help support the mental health of farmers during the transition from the Basic Payment Scheme to the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Mark Spencer: The Government is introducing ambitious new schemes for farmers and land managers in England, which will help their businesses become more productive and sustainable by rewarding them for farming in a way that will deliver environmental and animal welfare outcomes. We are also reforming the way we regulate, with greater emphasis on advice and improvement, so farmers and regulators work together to improve the countryside. We are providing support during the early years of the transition via the Future Farming Resilience Fund. One of the key required outcomes for the Resilience Fund is that farmers’ mental health and wellbeing are supported. Some delivery providers are offering this support from in-house experts and others are signposting support available from external expert services. We have worked with the Yellow Wellies charity, to provide advice and information on how to identify potential mental health issues and provide tools for addressing them.

Dangerous Dogs

Miriam Cates: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether owners who register their dogs as an XL Bully type dog will be able to remove them from the register if they are later identified as a different breed.

Mark Spencer: There will be a process for owners to apply to have their Certificate of Exemption withdrawn if the owner considers that the dog is not within scope of the ban. We will announce details of how the process will work in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: ICT

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Fifty-first Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2022-23 on Tackling Defra’s ageing digital services, HC 737, published on 10 May 2023, what steps his Department has taken to replace legacy computer systems since the publication of that report.

Mark Spencer: We continue to invest in replacing legacy IT systems, both through the dedicated upgrade programmes and through major programme deliveries.For example, our Legacy Application Programme is addressing technical debt which includes exiting from old data centres, removing obsolescence, bringing applications into mainstream support, and improving their security posture. Over 180 applications have had their most critical legacy technology addressed through this programme. We are addressing legacy technology in other applications through digital transformation and policy programmes where this provides a better coordinated approach. This approach has enabled us to remediate the most critical legacy technology and continue to remediate priority applications to April 2025.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what targets his Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.

Rebecca Pow: The Government set out how we would meet our commitments in the Net Zero Strategy in 2021 which included a detailed breakdown of actions required across all sectors in the economy. This was updated in 2023 through the publication of 'Powering Up Britain'. The UK has halved its emissions, ahead of every other major economy, and we have grown our economy by over 70% since 1990. The UK over-achieved against the first and second carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that we are on track to meet the third. We have one of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the world, and we have set more stretching targets for 2030 than most countries. We plan to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the EU, Japan or the United States.

Office for Environmental Protection

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report entitled Progress in improving the natural environment in England 2022 to 2023 published by the Office for Environmental Protection on 17 January 2024.

Rebecca Pow: This Government is committed to leaving the environment in a better state than we found it. The Office for Environmental Protection’s (OEP) report covers the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. Toward the end of this reporting period, in January 2023, the Government published its revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) and set its suite of ambitious 13 Environment Act targets. We are now firmly rooted in delivery mode. Their 200-page report recognises the scale of ambition of EIP23, including our challenging interim targets. The OEP reports some environmental trends are improving, with most progress in reducing air pollutants, greenhouse gases and chemical pollutants. We will carefully review the OEP’s findings and respond in due course.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what targets his Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.

Mr Alister Jack: The Government set out how we would meet our commitments in the Net Zero Strategy in 2021, which included a detailed breakdown of actions required across all sectors of the economy. This was updated in 2023 through the publication of 'Powering Up Britain'. The UK has halved its emissions, ahead of every other major economy, and we have grown our economy by over 70% since 1990. The UK over-achieved against the first and second carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that we are on track to meet the third. We have one of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the world, and we have set more stretching targets for 2030 than most countries. We plan to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the EU, Japan or the United States.

Blood: Contamination

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on infected blood compensation payments.

John Lamont: The Government is committed to working with the Devolved Governments, where appropriate, to explore what options are available to develop an effective response to the inquiry's recommendations that delivers across the UK.

Ministry of Justice

Alternatives to Prison

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the average length of referral orders in the last five years.

Edward Argar: I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 November 2023 to Question 927: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-11-08/927).

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Business: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK Innovation Strategy, last updated on 14 November 2023, how many Prosperity Partnerships have been launched as of 24 January 2024.

Andrew Griffith: There have been 66 partnerships across five funding rounds since 2017. A further nine partnerships were created in 2023 as part of a pilot scheme for early-stage business-academia collaborations.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK Innovation Strategy, last updated on 14 November 2023, what progress she has made on establishing a new Innovation Missions Programme.

Andrew Griffith: The Science and Technology Framework confirmed a new £250 million investment for missions to build on the UK’s global leadership in three transformational technologies: AI, quantum technologies, and engineering biology. This has since been expanded with an initial investment of £70m for a Future telecoms’ mission, and the announcement of the long-term National Quantum Strategy Missions in the autumn statement.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to the five successful researchers from the latest 2023 funding round of the European Research Council Proof of Concept scheme to undertake work in UK research institutions.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department has provided to successful applicants to the European Research Council Proof of Concept scheme to carry out work in UK research institutions since November 2021.

Andrew Griffith: The Government chose to associate to Horizon Europe because Horizon Europe will strengthen UK science and boost economic growth. The European Research Council (ERC) is a key part of this as 63% of research funded through the ERC grants leads to a major scientific advance. The UK Government Horizon Europe Guarantee remains active and covers all remaining Horizon Europe grant calls up to and including work programme 2023 irrespective of the call closing or grant signature date. This includes the ERC Proof of Concept. As of 31 December 2023, 371 grant offer letters, worth £549 million have been issued to ERC applicants under the Guarantee.